Starting Again
by ScarstarOfMountainClan
Summary: Ten years after 'ISITC'. Rouge is a mother, Cosmo has a new boyfriend and she's hiding a terrible secret, Silver and Blaze are unusually nervous, nobody knows where Sally has gone, Charmy and Cream have an odd relationship nobody really understands and Amy's engaged. But not to Sonic. /discontinued - explanation in last chapter/
1. Hello Again

**Hello! **

**Wow, we're actually at the sequel now? **

**Yes. Yes we are.**

**Anyway, the sequel will probably be shorter than ISITC, because there are less sub-plots (that may change)**

**Okay: any music I mention ... it's going to be stuff we know of now mostly, because we still listen to stuff that came out years ago ... why would these guys be any different? Also, I am not writing brand-new songs that I won't even use and won't be good.**

**Anyway, the younger characters (Daisy May, Alex, anybody's kids) will all of listened to what their parents/older siblings listen too so yup :b**

**I JUST HAVE TO SAY ONE THING; DAISY MAY'S FRIENDS IN THIS STORY ARE FREAKIN AWESOME. They're all imaginary friends I had when I was younger, I just made them animals ... so yeah ^_^ random fact there.**

**Enjoy :)**

**( x x x )**

The hedgehog in the mirror was tall, with pink quills that had been cut so they ended above her shoulders. She had big dark green eyes and an hourglass figure. She was wearing black leggings, red boots and a floaty,long,dark-red and black top Her make-up was simple; just a bit of red-lipstick, and some dark-grey eyeshadow. There was a gold chain around her neck with a red gem-stone hanging from it. On her finger was a ruby ring, set into a gold band.

It was hard to believe that the girl in the mirror was me. I look so ... grown-up.

Inside though, I still feel the same way I did ten years ago; like a scared teenager, wondering what was going to happen on the first day at my new school.

Amy, it's no big deal, I said to myself, You're just going over to Shadow and Maria's, for their reunion dinner-party thing ... no biggie.

I shook my head, and turned away from the mirror, walking out of my tiny bedroom - Daisy May needs the bigger one.

Besides, Shadow told you that he probably wouldn't be coming ... you have nothing to worry about.

I walked into the kitchen of our little house; we sold the big house years ago, to pay for Daisy May's hospital bills, a car, and this bungalow, now that she can't get up stairs with her injury. The kitchen is pretty small, but cosy. The walls are bright orange-yellow, and there's a table in the middle of the room with an orange-and-red checked table-cloth. There are a ton of Daisy May's old paintings on the fridge, and some postcards and photographs arranged on a pinboard - a group photo of the whole gang at the ice-rink when I was sixteen, Shadow and Maria with their daughter, some school pictures and postcards etc: etc:

'Daisy May?' I asked, grabbing my car-keys from the kitchen table. 'You ready?'

Her voice rang out through the house, 'Just a second!'

'Are you sure you don't - ?' I began but a loud sigh cut me off. 'Amy,' she said, sounding a little insulted. 'I've been using this thing for five years, okay? I think I can get in and out of my room.' she snapped, rolling into the kitchen. She managed to avoid knocking over anything with her wheelchair. I winced slightly - even after all these years, it still hurt to know that she wouldn't be able to walk again.

A few years ago, Daisy-May had been in a car-accident with Scourge and Rosy who had been taking her to our grandmother's house. There had been a drunk-driver on the road ...

Well. You can see what happened

Scourge and Rosy had been okay, but Daisy May wasn't so lucky. Her knees had been very badly damaged in the crash and she had needed a wheelchair ever since. The accident had changed everything; we had to move. Mom moved in with her sister so we could get a smaller, cheaper house ...

It had made my choice of what to do with the arranged marriage situation a lot easier though.

'Amy? Hel-looo? Earth to Miss Rose?' Daisy-May sang. Her voice snapped me out of my daze and I looked back at her, feeling relieved when I saw that she didn't look annoyed at me anymore.

'Now that you're back, what do you think of my outfit?' she asked me, doing a neat little spin. I took in her apperance; God, she had changed a lot.

Her deep fuchsia coloured quills had been backcombed, with random stripes of green, black, pink and blue and a few clips here and there. She as wearing a red tartan skirt that ended slightly below her knees, a tight black vest-top, black leggings and cherry-red DM boots with black laces. She had a ton of bangles, bracelets and bands up her left arm and a black fingerless glove on the right. She wasn't wearing much make-up; just some eyeliner, green eyeshadow and lip-gloss. To be honest, I wasn't to keen on her look nowadays ... but I didn't like telling her what she could and couldn't wear; she had so little control over anything in her life as it was.

I smiled, 'You look great lil' sis!'

Daisy-May beamed, 'Thanks! Jade and Paul helped me pick it out after-school yesterday.'

(Jade and Paul were Daisy-May's best friends. Jade and Daisy-May had met in hospital - Jade's diabetic. Paul was Jade's boyfriend ... their relationship had been a little like Tails and Cosmo's in secondary school ... best friend's who had fallen in love. Only it had taken longer for them to go out, because Daisy-May and Jade had been convinced that Paul was gay ... he was really just metrosexual.)

Daisy-May and I left the house and made our way to the car. It's nothing special, a dark-red seven-seater (so we have extra trunk space for Daisy-May's chair). The seats are a little faded and there's always a ton of clutter inside, but I like it all the same I lifted Daisy-May out and put her down into the seat; thank God that she doesn't weigh that much ... she has to mind her diet because she's in the chair. I folded the chair up and hauled it into the trunk before climbing into the driver's seat and setting off. Daisy-May was texting one of her friends on her phone so I decided to put in a CD. I slid Amy's CD 2013 into the player (Silver, Tails and Tikal had gotten really into making CDs for different people and occasions a few years ago).

After a few seconds I stopped listening to Taylor Swift and started thinking about what could happen tonight; it would be the first time the gang was all together, in one-place for the first time in ... forever.

Not that we've been ignoring each-other or anything ... it's just been hard. Marine went back to Australia for a while, all the drama with Knuckles and Rouge, Cream and Charmy are still getting their degrees ...

It's not only the gang at this thing though ... my whole year from secondary school will be there too, along with some of our friends in other years/schools - like Bunnie and her husband, Antoine, Azura and Ash - Cosmo's cousin and her on/off-again boyfriend.

Charmy will have his new girlfriend there, we'll be meeting Cosmo's new boyfriend for the first time, there will be kids ...

Yep. A lot has changed in the last ten years ... some of those changes good and some bad.

As I drove

A week or two after Vanilla and Vector's wedding, Maria had told the gang about her bullimia. They had been shocked to hear it but managed to stay strong for her, and get her some help.

She hadn't made herself sick since the wedding.

She and Shadow were still together; they did try to take a break one year, when Maria went to study in France but both of them were pretty miserable - especially Shadow. Maria decided to come home for Christmas, as a surprise, and the two of them ran into each-other's arms, and hardly let go the entire week.

Shadow and Maria now live in Maria's old house, to look after Maria's mother who has Alzheimer's disease. Maria had earned the title of ''professional dancer'' after finishing her ballet classes. She danced professionally in a few productions and she had recently started teaching ballet classes.

And true to her word, Maria had convinced Shadow that they should adopt a kid; a little Vietnamese tiger called Mai, who was seven years old - they had adopted her when she was five and her English was getting better all the time. Tails and I were her , because he and Shadow had become pretty close - well, as close as a guy can be with another guy without having romantic feelings for him - after things started going wrong for Tails at home ... Shadow could relate. And Maria had chosen me because the two of us were still best-friends.

Maria hadn't changed much in ten years ... she wasn't as hyper anymore, only freaking out whenever something really exciting happened. Her hair had been cut so it ended just below her shoulders and she had piercings all along her ears.

Shadow had changed; once he left secondary-school and moved in with Maria he became a happier guy. He smiled more ... he even talked more now! It had been a little hard to adjust too at first, but we were all used to it by now.

The change was brought on by the fact that he wasn't living at home with his parents and little sister anymore. None of us (except for Maria) had known much about Shadow's home life; we had all just believed that his parents were typical parents and that he just had a sister who annoyed him. In reality though, he was very unhappy at home. He felt like his parents loved Sunshine more than him, so he began to rebel; all the black clothes, and chains and guy-liner ... just a way to annoy his parents. Maria confessed that Shadow would often sneak out and run to her house at night everytime he and his parents had a huge row.

It was Maria who changed his relationship with his family; she called over to his house one day, having made sure he wouldn't be there. She sat down at the kitchen with his mother, his father and Sunshine and told them how Shadow felt at home; how alone and judged and upset he felt ... they all seemed a little shocked and tried to deny it, making excuses ... but the message obviously got through to them because one day he walked into school with Maria, both of them full of big smiles. His sister didn't ignore him in the halls, and instead she greeted him warmly.

Shadow was still at his piano, writing music and songs for Mina's band (her band were pretty famous now - Manic had joined them on drums. Mina had made peace with Maria and Shadow and she was now engaged to her manager, Ash Mongoose.)

All in all, things had improved for the two of them.

Marine and Aishling broke up after almost two years, but the two of them were still on good-terms. Marine taught P.E and Aishling was a journalist. Marine lived in a small apartment and Aishling lived with her friend Brendan, who was also gay - the two of them decided to come back here to live, instead of staying in Ireland for the rest of their lives though they went back to their home-country a few times a year.

Knuckles became a security guard at the Natural History Museum while Rouge was still trying to decide what she wanted to do in life ... she started working part-time in her friend Bunnie's salon, unsure of what she wanted to become. Then she overheard Marine telling Cream that a parent had pulled their child out of her class because she was dating a woman at the time. This opened Rouge's eyes up to how hard life could be for the LGBT community ... she remembered an exchange student we had for a year, a wolf from England who was trans male-female, and how she couldn't get a part-time job anywhere because of her gender identity.

That's when she decided she was going to become a Human-Rights lawyer. She had graduated from law school two years ago and was now working in a pretty succesful firm.

Knuckles and Rouge had lived together for a few years in an apartment ... things were fine for a few years. Of couse they had their arguments, but that was normal for any relationship ... especially if the people in that relationship were Knuckles and Rouge.

Then, when she was only twenty, Rouge discovered that she was pregnant.

They were scared but excited - Tikal wouldn't let Knuckles baby her anymore and got annoyed when he was too protective and Rouge was used to doing things on her own and was to stubborn to ask him for help when she needed it, so he was glad to have someone else to look after. Rouge had always wanted a little kid in her home and now she was finally getting one. Nine months later, Emerald (Emily) was born. Tikal and Aaron (Tikal's on/off again boyfriend and close friend) were her godparents.

Knuckles and Rouge believed that they could be a happy family now ... but things didn't work out that well.

Knuckles and Rouge knew that they would have to stop fighting now that they had a child ... first of all they tried discussing their problems but neither of them were good at opening up about their feelings. So they started to keep them bottled up ... and when that happened, the tinest thing could set them off. Knuckles forgot where he put his keys once and Rouge had a screaming fit, where she started yelling at him for things that had happened weeks earlier.

It wasn't that they weren't in love anymore ... they were. You could see it if you just looked. But they were both stressed out from having a child. They were tense and scared to even speak anymore in case it set the other one off. Neither of them were good at keeping their opinions to themselves; believe it or not, all of their arguments had been healthy for their relationship because it allowed them to see what the other person was thinking and feeling and they always worked harder at listening to the other afterwards. But this ... it was like they were trying to navigate their way through a field of land-mines. Taking small, soft steps then BOOM! a huge fight, with screaming and yelling and throwing things (okay that happened once ... Rouge grabbed a paperback of Blaze's and flung it in Knuckles' directon before storming out of the room).

Rouge spent more time with people in her school because she was so sick of being so careful all the time, not coming home until the early hours of the morning - they started leaving Emily with her grandmother (Knuckles' mother) most days. Knuckles became scared, worried that she had fallen out of love with him and was having an affair with one of her new friends. Of course she wasn't doing this ... but Knuckles was scared all the same. This only lead to bigger fights.

But eventually, they realised that it wasn't healthy. For them, for their relationship, for Emily ... so they broke up. Knuckles stayed in the apartment while Rouge moved in with Tikal for a few months, until she graduated and managed to buy a small house for her and Emily. Knuckles and Rouge would each have Emily for a week, but relied on Tikal to take the child between their houses ... they refused to talk or admit that they missed eachother.

It was sad ... they were still in love and they wouldn't even try.

Silver and Blaze were still together though. With Blaze's help, Silver's dyslexia improved and he was now a primary-school teacher. He taught third-class kids and loved his job. Blaze taught too, but she taught English in a our old secondary school. She was also writing a book; a fantasy novel, about a rebillious princess who wanted to be herself, and her little sister who was jealous of her. There were goblins, wood-nymphs, fairies and a romance between the princess and a guard-in-training who was also her best friend ...

Huh. I wonder where she got that idea.

But seriously, it was going to be great. Blaze was very good at writing and making up stories.

Silver and Blaze were the only couple that hadn't gone through a split or a break-up in the ten years they had been together. They had finally made love the Summer before they went to college and according to Blaze, the night had been perfect. The guys didn't get anything from Silver though ... he spent the next few days after their first time stuttering, blushing and looking as though he were in a trance.

Actually, that happens a lot ...

Oh.

Well.

Their relationship hadn't changed much ... Silver still fawned over Blaze while she teased and flirted with him. Silver was still nervous about everything but was willing to do anything for the lavender cat ... and Blaze still felt a little shy whenever he made a big romantic gesture towards her. But they were sweet and adorable and in love.

Tikal surprised everyone by becoming a school counselor. She had always had her heart set on acting or working for Greenpeace ... then, she became the Agony Aunt for the school magazine and she found it addicting. Tikal discovered that she was good at helping people! She had been bullied and she had observed the rest of us going through things with our parents, relationships, school-work etc: so she could relate to the people who needed help.

In her spare time she'd continue to make her little trinkets - houses made from ice-lolly sticks, feather mobiles, shell jewellery, stuff like that - and try out for shows in the local theater.

She did go out with Aaron (the echidna at the wedding) in the end ... they broke up after a few months but they remained close friends. Aaron was still totally in love with her and wanted to get married to Tikal but Tika wanted to make sure that he was the one for her.

So they went out with other people, just to be sure.

Charmy and Cream decided that they wanted to be nurses after poking around the hospital ater Daisy-May's accident. They were seventeen at the time and wondering what they wanted to do in life and they got talking to a nurse at the hospital ... and found out what they wanted to do.

Cream finally went out with Monty but they broke up; Cream was a wreck for a few days and Charmy was the only person who could get through to her. Charmy was upset, but only because Cream was so heart-broken. When she did start dating again he didn't feel jealous ... he had moved on. The two of them had a totally platonic relationship. The two of them were so comfortable together that when it was warm in the apartment, Cream would walk around in nothing but her underwear without any problem. Charmy was constantly pulling her down onto the couch and starting tickle-fights with her. It was sweet but didn't help their love-lives; their boyfriends/girlfriends always felt threatened and jealous and would realise that Cream and Charmy would never care about them as much as they cared about one-another.

Tails went through a pretty rough time when Cosmo and Aishling discovered that his father was having an affair. They had been in an Art Museum and had seen Tails' father with his arm around a pretty young hedgehog.

For a few months, the yellow fox was sulky and withdrawn; he had been close to his father and couldn't believe he had done something like this. He started falling behind in school and snapping at all of us.

After a few weeks, Cosmo made a very difficult decision.

She broke up with Tails.

We all objected to this and demanded to know why she was doing this ... Cosmo just looked at us and said sadly, ''He doesn't need a girlfriend right now. He needs his best-friend back ... I love Tails and I will be all that he needs no matter how I feel.'' Tails eventually got over what happened and things went back to normal ...

But they never did get back together.

And none of us really know why.

Tails opened up a little shop where fixed things and he sold things he had made from bits of metal and wood - model ships, toys, tables and chairs, little inventions etc: etc: Tikal and Cosmo made little things for him to sell too, because they were both so good at Arts and Crafts.

Cosmo had no idea what she wanted to do. She knew what she liked - art and music ... but she had no idea what she wanted to do as a career. Right now she did twenty different things, trying to sort it all out. She was a waitress in a cafe in town, she helped Tails at his shop, helped her mother at her shop, auditioned for pantomimes and shows at the local theater, tried to sell paintings to galleries and wanted to illustrate Blaze's future book.

Tails had broken up with his girlfriend, Mandy, a few months ago. They had only been dating a few weeks; we had met Mandy once. She was a pretty tabby cat with big amber eyes and a nice laugh ... but she was a wallflower and didn't try to join in with us. She was so different from Cosmo ... I think that's why it didn't work out.

Cosmo was dating a new guy. We hadn't met him, but her relationship status on facebook had changed from single to in a relationship with Steven Woods almost two months ago. None of us knew what he was like, but we had seen a picture of him on Cosmo's facebook page - a smokey-grey wolf with long, messy black hair and dark, dangerous eyes.

I wonder what he will be like ...

We were almost at Maria's house. Daisy-May was staring out the window, looking a little anxious. She was clutching her phone in her hand, as though she were scared it would run away. The phone buzzed and she quickly read the message, eyes glowing.

'What's got you so excited?' I asked her. My sister slipped her phone into her black purse. 'Oh, Jade was just ... she just told me this really cute thing Paul did for her, is all.'

'Okay - you know, you haven't had them over in a while. I have a parent-teacher meeting with the second and fifth-year parents next Thursday. I'll be out a while so you could have them over so you have some company?'

'Yeah ... maybe.' Daisy-May bit her lip, 'Could - could I invite someone else over as well?'

'Sure,' I replied, turning left; just a few more minutes. 'You have a new friend then?'

She nodded, 'Taylor just moved here from New York.'

'Awesome,' I smiled. 'Sure! Taylor can come over as well ... it's nice to see you're including her. She's probably having a hard time fitting in with everyone. It can be hard being the new-girl.'

Daisy-May seemed to be a little uneasy; she looked like she wanted to say something, but I stopped the car before she had a chance. We were at Shadow and Maria's house.

I helped Daisy-May into her wheelchair and we walked up to the door of the big white building. They were good enough to put up a ramp for Daisy-May. I rang the doorbell open; I heard an excited high-pitched voice cry 'I'll get it!'

A small silver tiger with black stripes and big amber eyes opened the door. Mai. She was wearing a little pink dress and sparkly shoes. Mai smiled when she saw Daisy-May and I and flung herself at me. Daisy-May laughed as I pulled the little tiger off me, holding her up above me so she was looking down at me.

'Hello Mai!' the two of us chorused. Mai grinned, 'Hello Amy! Hello Daisy-May! Mama and Daddy are waiting for you.'

'Mai?' Maria appeared at the door, her face splitting into a huge smile when she saw the two of us. 'Amy!' she exclaimed, pulling me into a hug - Mai quickly jumped out of my arms and went over to Daisy-May. 'Ah, we haven't spoken in forever!'

'We went shopping last week Maria,' I told her but I returned the hug all the same.

'I knoooow!' Maria whined, 'But I still missed you!'

When she finally let me go, we all walked (or rolled) into the house. Shadow walked out of the kitchen to greet us. He hugged me and shook Daisy-May's hand before kissing Maria on the cheek. Mai giggled and Maria sent her off to play with her toys. Daisy-May went off to mind her.

Shadow was wearing black designer jeans and a grey shirt. Maria was wearing a short, pale-blue dress and shoes with her hair pulled back from her face.

'How's your mother?' I asked the blonde hedgehog, putting my coat up on a hook. Maria smiled sadly, 'She's okay ... sleeping right now. We have the baby-alarm down here and in her room so we can check on her if she wakes up.'

The two hedgehogs lead me into the dining room; the table was full of trays of cheese and different crackers and savoury biscuits, bunches of grapes, little tartlets and things like that.

'Amy? Would you like a drink?' Shadow asked me, gesturing to the bottles of sparkling apple juice - he hadn't touched alcohol ever since Maria's sixteenth birthday and he and Maria wouldn't keep it in the house.

'Oh, yes please.'

Shadow poured me a drink and passed me the glass; the doorbell rang and he excused himself. Maria went around the room, moving things around and putting her iPod on shuffle in the background. I drank my sparkling juice, feeling more and more anxious by the minute ...

What would I do if he turned up tonight?!

I heard voices in the hall and I smiled when I recognised them; a little pink echidna with jet-black rings bounced into the room, giving us a quick ''hello!'' before running off to find Mai.

Rouge walked in behind her, looking as glam as ever in a short, slinky black dress and heels. Maria let out a little sqeal and pulled the three of us into a hug; I could understand her excitement this time. We hadn't met up with Rouge in a while - she had been working on a case for a man who hadn't been granted asylum from his country or something like that (I had only heard of it via Tikal so I was a little sketchy on the details).

'God, I've missed you guys!' Rouge exclaimed when we broke apart. 'How's work?'

'I'm getting my students ready for a recital ... we're doing ''Cinderella'' for Christmas.' Maria said, handing Rouge a drink.

'It will be amazing Maria. With you putting it together ...'

'Thanks Amy - I never asked how things were with you?'

We walked into the living room, sitting down on the sofa and armchairs. 'It's good I guess. I'm planning on taking my first-years on a trip to this old monastary and round-tower which should be good.'

'I still find it funny that you ended up teaching History,' Rouge confessed, 'I mean, I know you were good at it and all but I never thought you liked it that much.'

'Yeah, it is kinda strange.' I agreed, 'But it's a good job. I get a pretty decent wage.'

We spent a little while longer talking about our lives - Rouge had a good moan about the people she was working with. As Maria and Rouge talked about Mai and Emily I tuned out; I wasn't trying to be rude ... but whenever they talked about kids I felt a little sad.

I excused myself to get another drink and walked into the kitchen. I let out a long sigh and rubbed my forehead, shaking my head.

'Worried?'

I spun around, relaxing when I saw Shadow standing in the doorway. He looked sympathetic.

I nodded, my gaze dropping down to the ground. 'What will I do if he shows up Shadow? I haven't spoken to him in years ... '

Shadow walked over to the sink and rinsed out a glass. His eyes were narrowed, his expression thoughtful.

'If he shows up you should talk to him.' Shadow said. 'Try get away from everyone - Maria and I will distract them - and the two of you can talk about everything in private.'

'It's going to be so awkward.' I moaned, tipping my head back.

'Well, that's your own fault.' Shadow snapped. I stared at him, shocked. My fault? How was any of this my fault? I never asked for any of this -

'Amy, I've spent time with Sonic and I've seen how the break-up affected him. He's still cut up about it and if you had talked to him at all after you broke-up with him I think he'd be - '

I kicked the ground and stormed out of the room, trying to ignore Shadow and the wave of guilt that was washing over me ... then I just felt angry. Why did I feel guilty? Shadow was wrong; it wasn't my fault.

I walked back into the living room; Emily and Mai were sitting on their mother's laps and Daisy-May was chatting away with Rouge. I sat down beside Maria, still glaring. Maria looked over at me. 'Amy?' she asked. 'What's wrong?'

'Your boyfriend.'

Maria let out a long sigh. She looked like she wanted to know more but the doorbell rang before she had the chance. She gave Mai a little push and the little tiger slid off her lap. Emily hopped out of Rouge's arms and the two of them ran back to Mai's playroom.

Maria skipped off to answer the door. Rouge and I giggled when we heard her excited scream. A few seconds later she came back into the room followed by Bunnie, Antoine, Marine, Silver and Blaze. We all exchanged hugs and Antoine kissed us all on both cheeks (it's a French thing, Bunnie explained). Rouge's eyes were narrowed and she was staring at Bunnie; her eyes widened and her face lit up.

'Bunnie! When did? Why didn't? Are you?' she spluttered grabbing the rabbit's hands. Bunnie and Antoine exchanged sly looks then nodded. Bunnie placed a hand on her stomach and it clicked ...

'Oh my gosh!' Maria and I exclaimed simultaneously. Silver and Blaze's eyes were glowing. 'You're ...?'

Antoine nodded. 'Oui, Bunnie is expecting.'

The next five minutes were full of ''congratulations'' and questions and squealing (from Maria). Rouge pulled Bunnie away to talk to her and Antoine and Maria sat down together, chatting away in French.

I looked over at Silver and Blaze; the two of them were standing together so close that they looked like they were joint at the hip and they seemed happy ... but there was something else there. Silver looked nervous and Blaze was a little distracted.

I walked over to them, 'Hi guys!'

Silver jumped slightly but quickly relaxed; he looked as though I had saved him from a pool of lava or something. Blaze smiled but she still looked like she wasn't totally with us.

'Hi Amy,' she said, 'It's so nice to see you. We haven't hung-out outside of work in a while.

'Tell me about it.' I laughed. 'So how are things?'

'Meh,' Blaze rolled her eyes, 'Same old - same old. I'm getting ready for these stupid Christmas Exams - '

'Ugh don't remind me.' I groaned. 'I have a load to put together.'

'I am so glad I don't do secondary-school teaching ...' Silver muttered. Blaze smirked, 'Only because you'd be way too scared of the students.'

'I would not be scared of them!' Silver exclaimed. 'Silver, you were worried about your class full of eight-year-olds for a month!' I giggled.

Blaze laughed; Silver stared at her, his eyes taking on a familiar glassy look that he got whenever he was with Blaze and -

Okay time for me to leave.

More and more people were arriving, all of them chatting, eating, drinking and laughing - Ash and Mina were together, Fiona Fox, Julie-Su (she and Rouge made peace at their graduation) and Mighty the Armidillo were talking, Aishling, her girlfriend, Nicole (a geeky lynx) and Aishling were trying to convince Cream to chat-up some bear I didn't recognise ('_'He's fit!'' ''How do you know Marine? You like girls?'' ''Hey! You like guys and you can tell when a girl's attractive, can't ya?''_). Charmy and Johnny Lightfoot were loudly discussing a football match. Aaron, Tikal, Azura and Ash were sitting on the sofas so they were facing each-other. Aaron tried to put his arm around Tikal but she elbowed him in the side so he pulled his arm back. Knuckles had Emily up on his shoulders while Rouge, who was still with Bunnie, watched him sadly. Daisy-May was entertaining some of the little kids, Manic and his boyfriend - yes, a **boyfriend**! He came out as bisexual towards the end of the Summer Vanilla and Vectro got married. What's more, his boyfriend is Aishling's friend Brendan! - were talking to their friends Jazz, Nicole (not Aishling's girlfriend, this is another Nicole - she's Josh Hutcherson's cousin or something!) and her boyfriend and many many more.

I looked and looked but there was no sign of a cobalt hedgehog anywhere.

I don't know if I feel happy about this or not.

'Amy!'

I spun around, beaming when I saw a two-tailed fox walk into the room.

'Tails!' I exclaimed, hugging him. 'How are you? It's been ages!'

'Yeah, I was camping in this forest, looking for wood and trying to come up with new ideas for inventions.' he explained. 'I made a doll-house for Mai, and was wondering if you wanted to buy some little dolls to go with it or something?'

'Sure,' I nodded. 'I can do that ... being a Godparent is expensive.' I laughed. Tails smiled at my joke, before looking around the room, his eyes hopeful.

'She's not here.' I said; I knew who he was looking for. Tails' ears drooped but quickly perked up when I went on, 'But she's coming. She confirmed it with Maria - she said that she wouldn't miss it for the world.'

'Have you heard from her at all?' Tails asked me; he looked a little nervous. I shook my head, frowning slightly. 'No ... why are you asking? You two are best-friends! Haven't you talked to her lately?'

Tails shook his head a little sadly. 'No. I've tried asking her if she wanted to get a coffe or something but something always pops up with her new boyfriend.' I noticed the change in tone on the word boyfriend.

'Talking about Cosmo?' Mina asked us, pausing as she made her out the door. 'The doorbell rang just now - I was about to get it. It's probably - '

Tails had already left; I followed him, along with most of the old gang. We walked into the hall to see Tails open the door, his face breaking out into a huge grin when he saw a green seedrian standing there.

Cosmo's hair was longer than it was the last time I saw her, and the flowers on her head were in full bloom. She was wearing a soft green dress and dark green eyeshadow.

Something was off though.

Her skin was even paler than usual. She was squinting slightly with one of her eyes and even though they had brightened when she laid eyes on her best-friend they looked dull. There was a smile on her face but she hadn't flung her arms around Tails and hugged him yet, even though she obviously wanted too. She took a timid step into the house. As soon as she did so, Tails pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She looked a little nervous but eventually closed her eyes and her smile widened.

'It's great to see you Cosmo!'

'You too Tails. I've - '

'Cosmo.'

Cosmo jumped back from Tails as though he were on fire and spun around. Blaze and I looked over at the door; the wolf in Cosmo's photos was standing there, his dark eyes narrowed, his fists clenched, his stance alert. Steven Woods. Cosmo's mysterious new boyfriend.

'Hello ...' Maria offered, looking a little nervous. Steven ignored her, he just stared at Cosmo and Tails. Cosmo took a few steps towards her boyfriend. Tails stood up straight, his eyes narrowed as well.

'Cosmo, who is this?' Steven asked, gesturing towards Tails. Cosmo stepped beside the taller wolf, her gaze sliding down to the ground.

'Steven, this is Tails. He's the friend I told you about.'

'Ah. The _ex_-boyfriend.' Steven growled, a small smirk tugging at his lips. He extended his hand out to Tails. 'I'm Steven Woods ... the boyfriend.'

He yanked Tails' hand and shook it hard; Tails winced and I noticed how tight Steven's grip was on his hand.

I wasn't a huge fan of Cosmo's new boyfriend.

I don't think any of us were.

Everyone was glaring at Steven, or eyeing him up to see if they could take him down (that was mostly Knuckles, Shadow and Rouge.)

Eventually, Maria cleared her throat and said that we should be getting back to everyone else. We all nodded and walked back into the kitchen or living room. Tails tried to get over to Cosmo but Cream tugged at his arm and pulled him away, whispering something. Charmy nodded in agreement and Tails sighed. Steven has his arm around Cosmo, pratically holding her there as if she were a naughty chao who would run away.

This isn't good.

Not at all.

( x x x )

Things weren't as awkward as I thought they would be tonight.

Everyone was full of questions for different people and funny stories and (in Bunnie and Antoine's case) announcements. Everyone was laughing and being really loud; there was a great atmosphere in the air; a buzz of excitement around us.

Even Cosmo seemed perkier for a few minutes, telling Cream about how she was going to audition for the pantomime at Christmas. Tails, Cream, Charmy and Marine were all telling her how great she would be when Steven overheard.

He laughed, 'There's no point auditioning Cosmo,' he told the seedrian, 'There are plenty of young women and men who will be after parts ... you only have maybe a 10% chance of getting in the show. And even if you somehow landed the main role, what good would it be? Nobody gets famous from pantomimes.'

This statement was met by a shocked silence from the four people listening to Cosmo; Cosmo herself just looked down at the ground, and nodded, saying that she agreed with Steven and yes there was no point in trying out for a part because she wouldn't get one anyway.

I shook my head; what was wrong with the girl?

We were all gathered around the table, eating dinner, when things went wrong.

'Has anyone heard from Sally?' I asked, when the noise dropped down slightly. Everyone stopped talking as soon as I asked my question, looking over at each-other with questioning looks.

'Not since August.' Fiona confessed; that was almost two months ago.

'I tried contacting her to see if she could make it tonight,' Maria told us, 'But I didn't get a reply.'

'I thought you would've heard from her Amy,' Johnny Lightfoot said. 'I mean, aren't you - ?'

Honey the Cat hissed at him, scaring him into silence. Daisy-May looked over at me, wide-eyed. She wasn't the only one either; everyone looked a little nervous. An awkward silence filled the room.

I half expected crickets to start chirping.

I felt my face redden and my eyes burn; I stood up, pushing my plate away and storming back into the kitchen for the second time tonight. I marched over to the sink and splashed cold water at my face. In the window, I could see my diamond ring's reflection, shining and sparkling, as though it were taunting me.

I furiously splashed more water at my face, trying to stop myself from bursting into tears. I turned off the tap and dabbed at my face with a cloth. I looked in the window again, to see if my make-up was messed up ... I don't know if it was.

Because I saw something else in the reflection that made me forget everything that had happened today; instead, my head was flooded with memories - slow-dancing, kisses in the rain, swing-sets, picnics and confessions of love late in the night.

I turned around slowly, praying that it wasn't true, that he wasn't here.

My prayers weren't answered.

I turned around to meet the beautiful lime-green eyes and soft cobalt fur that had haunted my dreams since I graduated.

'Hello Ames. It's been a while.'

_'Sonic the Hedgehog.'_  
**...**

**Okay, first thing.**

**DAISY-MAY'S IN A WHEELCHAIR?!**

**Yes. Yes she is.**

**See, I knew that Amy had to have a reason for marrying ... whoever it is ... and I thought of something. One of Amy's fears was that Daisy-May would have to go through with the arranged marriage too (look back at ISITC because I've mentioned it a few times) and I knew that having something happen to Daisy-May would make Amy a million times more protective of her. I didn't want to go with cancer or anything like that, because there would always be the fact that she could die hanging over our heads, so I went with her being crippled.**

**You have no idea how many days I spent reading wheel-chair related topics and asking questions ... like what sort of clothes could they wear, how do they go to the bathroom, why might you need a wheelchair? (I was wondering where in your legs you'd have to break/damage)**

**So yus.**

**What else can I say about this chapter ...?**

**I BROKE UP KNOUGE, TAISMO AND MASHLING?**

**I'm sorry, please don't hurt me. I kept Silvaze and Shadia together didn't I?**

**I almost broke up Silvaze guys ... be grateful that I didn't.**

**OKAY. LISTEN.**

**I have exams at the start of December, okay? So I will not be able to write until the tests are over (but they only go on for two days anyway). I am sorry but my education is really important to me and I have HUGE exams next year (2014) and I have things to study already.**

**I'll try write over Christmas ... I promise.**

**(I hope anyone who was affected Sandy is okay)**

**Scarstar xxx**


	2. Yep, This Is Awkward

**Hey, so I'm pleased with the response so far :)**

**Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews - I can't reply to most of them because my internet is f*cked up. **

**I'd just like to make a few things clear.**

**This story will have a different tone than the first one; it will contain more angst, be darker and will talk about some pretty serious issues (we all know what that will be). There may even be a slight lemon in one chapter (nothing too graphic because I'm thirteen years old and that would be creepy).**

**There will be some fluff and cute stuff too though (mostly Shadia, Silvaze and ?/?)**

**Another thing I really must talk about is the fact that Manic is bisexual.**

**I don't know why, but when my little brothers got into ''Sonic Underground'' I just kept thinking that Manic was gay. I have no idea why ... I just did. In fact, when I started this story Manic was gay but I decided not to do it because as I wrote he developed feelings for Amy because I thought it would be interesting ... but I still thought he might like boys as well. I think that for a while he was dating girls and flirting with girls because he found everything really confusing ... then someone changed that and he accepted that yes, he liked boys and girls (this could be a future one-shot).**

**I had a reviewer say that they didn't think Manic was the ''bisexual type'' which I don't really understand ... could you maybe explain what you mean? Because I do want to hear your opinions ... **

**It's like having friends.**

**SO. I think I've kept you waiting long enough :) This chapter isn't very long ... the next one might not be either, but Chapter 5 has Sonamy!**

**Enjoy!**

**(x x x)**

I couldn't breathe; when I opened my mouth no sound came out. I just stood there gaping at him like a goldfish. My head was spinning ... I couldn't think straight. A million memories were playing in my head at once ... trying to focus on anything made me feel dizzy.

Sonic hadn't changed much - at least at a first glance. He was a little taller and muscular (_don't even_ _think about it Amy Rose!_) but other than that ... nothing obvious.

Then I looked again.

He looked ... hollow. If that makes sense. Like a shell of his former self. His brilliant green eyes had lost some of their brightness, his smile seemed a little forced ... even his voice sounded different! Sadder, a little broken ...

I heard an excited squeak behind me. Sonic and I spun around to see Maria standing there, her eyes wide and a huge smile on her face.

Before either of us could say anything, she had launched herself at Sonic and was hugging him tightly. After a few seconds, Sonic briefly returned the hug but pulled away quickly.

'Hi Mar - '

'Sonic!' she beamed, her eyes shining. 'How are you? I haven't seen you in ...' she narrowed her eyes; I could see the memories and dates flashing in her eyes as she tried to calculate how long it had been.

' ... almost three years ...'

Maria's eyes were wide with surprise - she obviously hadn't known how long it had been. I was surprised too; he hadn't spoken to Maria in three years? And what about the rest of the gang? Yeah, I knew he was in touch with Tails ... but what about the others?

**Three years.**

God. Why had he been avoiding them for so long?

I didn't have time to come up with a reason because at that exact moment Shadow walked into the room, followed by Daisy-May. Shadow's eyes widened but apart from that he didn't react to seeing Sonic in his kitchen. Daisy-May looked completely shocked; her eyes were wide and she blinked a few times, as if trying to see if it was an illusion. Her mouth was hanging open ... but beneath the shock she looked happy and excited. She rolled over to the cobalt hedgehog, grinning. Sonic's gaze dropped from me and he looked at Daisy-May instead.

'Hello ...?' he began, looking a little confused -

Oh God. _He didn't know_... I had never told him! We had broken up before Daisy-May's accident and I hadn't seen him since the split!

I wasn't sure if Daisy-May knew that he didn't know about her accident; if she did she didn't react at all, she just extended her hand to his and said, 'Hi Sonic! Remember me?'

I watched Sonic's eyes widen when he realised who he was talking too. His jaw dropped slightly as he took in the chair ... I felt annoyed. He didn't have to _stare._Daisy-May got enough of that as it was!

Oddly enough, Daisy-May didn't seem to mind Sonic's reaction. She just nodded. 'Car accident.' she explained, gesturing to her chair. 'Broke my knees - around five years ago.'

Sonic nodded, unsure of what to say. He quickly looked away from Daisy-May's chair and his eyes locked with mine ...

All of a sudden I felt weak at the knees. I felt my face flushing and I could of sworn I heard birds chirping to pretty music in the background. The melted-chocolate sensation that I hadn't felt in years was coming back to me and -

_Oh crap, not again!_

This was going to be a **really**long night.

**(x x x)**

Thank God for Maria Robotnik.

Seriously, she must be an angel who fell onto earth one day who just wanders around doing good things for people -

Okay, that's an overstatement. But she's a life-saver.

Maria took Sonic's hand and brought him around to everyone in the dining room; they were all surprised but excited to see him - especially Mai, who had heard stories about various things we had all gotten up to at school but who had never met her ''Uncle Sonic'' as she called him.

Everybody wanted to talk to Sonic and find out what he had been up too - aside from some Christmas cards, nobdoy had really heard from him in a while.

I tried to hide away in the background, hoping that nobody would notice my red face. A few people looked over at me with curious/uncomfortable expressions and that just made me blush even more ... I couldn't really blame them though. It had been obvious me and Sonic have - I mean had - feelings for one-another ... they all wanted to know how I felt.

I decided to go away and hide in Eva's old bedroom for a while but before I could get up the stairs, somebody called my name.

'Amy! Come over here for a minute.'

Screw Satan for Shadow the Hedgehog.

I tried to ignore him but he ran over and grabbed my shoulder and _fuck his super-speed_.

'Yeah Shadow?' I said, turning my head slightly to look at him, my ears drooping. Shadow looked dead serious. 'Remember what I told you earlier?'

'Vaugely,' I mumbled. Shadow glared, 'Amy - '

'_**Yes Shadow.**_I remember.' I sighed, rolling my eyes. 'I just don't see why I have - '

'Amy, stop being childish. Really, Mai has more sense than you do.'

I spun around so the two of us were face to face. 'I am not being childish!' I huffed, stamping one foot on the floor. Shadow raised an eyebrow and I realised the irony of what I had said and done.

'Amy ... don't you think Sonic deserves a chance to talk to you?' Shadow asked me, 'I mean, you more or less ripped his heart out by dumping - '

'You don't think it was hard for me too?' I hissed, regretting the words as soon as they had left my mouth - what was I even doing? But I didn't stop. 'Breaking up with Sonic ... I didn't enjoy it, okay?!'

Shadow still didn't look convinced. 'You don't seem very - '

'Yeah, well you didn't look very heart-broken or upset after you cheated on Maria.'

My eyes widened when I realised what I had just said. I slapped a hand over my mouth but it was too late ... Shadow had heard me. His expression became colder, his red eyes blazing with anger.

'Shadow, I'm sorry - ' I began but he simply pushed past me and stormed up the stairs. I heard the chatter behind me fade into silence, broken only by Shadow's footsteps. After a few seconds Maria ran up after her boyfriend, calling his name. Mai, who was sitting on Cream's lap looked worried.

I felt everyone's eyes watching me and I couldn't take it. I just couldn't take it ... I felt hot all over and turned away in shame. I sensed someone walk up to me but I walked away before they could reach me. I left the room and found myself in the kitchen for the third time that night. I pulled out a stool and sat down on it, covering my face with my hands; my head was starting to hurt.

I knew that I should go and apologize for what I had said to Shadow, but I knew that if I went up there Shadow would force me to go down and talk to Sonic ... and I just couldn't do that.

Not right now.

It wouldn't work.

I wasn't ready.

Anyway ... what would I say?

I knew I shouldn't of come tonight. It was a mistake. I had just ruined the night for -

'Rough night?'

I nearly fell off my stool in shock. I stood up and folded my arms, forcing myself to frown even though I felt a wave of excitemnt rush through my body. Sonic was standing in the doorway, his expression sympathetic.

I dragged a hand through my hair. 'It's none of your concern.'

I heard his footsteps nearing me so I quickly turned around and took a few steps away from him so I was staring at my reflection in the window. My muzzle had turned pale pink and my eyes were wide. My body tensed as Sonic continued to walk towards me. He grabbed onto my hand and held it up, examining the ring on my finger.

'It's a lovely ring.'

I pulled my hand away and folded my arms, trying to hide the ring. 'Yes. It's nice I guess.'

'Only nice?' Sonic let out a long sigh, 'You're probably used to expensive jewellery and stuff, with your fiance being rich and all.'

'It's not that.' I shrugged, 'I just never really looked at it before ... it's just something that's always there.'

I didn't get a reply from Sonic for a few minutes. I turned my attention to a tiny spider spinning a web on the corner of the roof ... but I couldn't stop myself from shivering when I noticed Sonic staring at me from the corner of my eye ...

Why, why, why was this happening to me?

'So. You're little sister is in a wheelchair?'

I narrowed my eyes, 'Yes. For a while now ... what about it?'

'I'm just surprised that nobody told me ... that you never told me.'

I closed my eyes and stepped away from him. 'I didn't have your number - or any way of contacting you ... otherwise I'd - '

'Amy, don't lie to me.' Sonic sounded annoyed, 'We both know that you could of found out if you wanted to - '

'If I wanted to?' I snapped, turning to face him. 'No, I knew that if I tried to get in touch with you, you'd just bring up the break-up because you can't let anything go! My feelings had nothing to do with - '

'Your feelings?' Sonic's eyes were shining and he looked slightly smug. 'So Ames, what feelings for me were you - '

'Shut up!' I cried, my face turning bright-red much to my despair. 'And don't call me that!'

'Fine, fine ... what should I call you ? Should I call you Amy? Amanda? Miss Rose? ... or _whose_name are you taking after the wedding?'

'You ... you - '

'Amy?'

I froze. My blood turned to ice and I realised how close I was to Sonic; during our argument we had moved so close to one-another that our noses were almost touching. I jumped away from him and turned to look at the person who had spoken. He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing a black coat and holding a bunch of flowers (for Maria I guessed) and a doll (Mai).

My fiance entered the room and kissed my cheek before he turned to face Sonic. He looked a little uncomfortable ... Sonic just looked shocked. He kept opening his mouth as though he were trying to say something but nothing would come out (I knew the feeling).

I bit my lip, looking at my fiance then Sonic then my fiance then Sonic and back and forth between them. There was a very long, awkward silence. I closed my eyes and turned in Sonic's direction. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

'Sonic, I'd like you to meet my fiance ... Elias Acorn.'

**(x x x)**

**What?**

**Oh come on, it was fairly obvious it was him.**

**Anyway, remember how I told you another couple that got together in ISITC would be featured in this?**

**You should all know what that couple is by now. It is so obvious. Seriously.**

**Oh, and I had an anon (misserablerose) ask me if I'd write another Sonamy AU. I don't know ... after this I want to take a break from the Sonic fandom ... I have a Harry/Ginny AU that I would LOVE to write and I have it all planned out (then there are other one-shots)**

**Maybe a mini-series ... like, five chapters at the most?**

**I'll have to wait and see how much time I have when this is over.**

**Anyway, I'm exhausted ... goodnight.**

**Oh, there was a typo in the last chapter and I can't fix it just now ... but Marine is dating Nicole (the lynx) and Aishling isn't - she's still single.**

**Scarstar xxx**


	3. Confusing Emotions

**YES Manic is bisexual.**

**NO that wasn't just because of pandering.**

**NO he won't be a main character in this story.**

**Gosh. It's not really a big deal.**

**ANYWAY sorry this took a while. Exams and all ... but I did very well :) Not much happens in this chapter ... Sonic isn't in it but he will be in the next chapter. This chapter is really just made up of three characters - Amy, Daisy-May and Elias (who doesn't appear until the end of the chapter but he's still important in the rest of it)**

**Enjoy the chapter :)**

**(x x x)**

'You'll be okay until I get back?' I asked my sister, triple-checking. Daisy May was just outside our house rolling her eyes at me.

'_Yes_ Ames. I will be fine. Jade, Paul and Taylor will be here soon, okay? And surely you won't be that long at the parent-teacher meeting.'

'Just making sure.' I told her. I was about to roll up my car window when I remembered; 'Oh! Elias is coming over for dinner tonight. Cream left some stew for us – it's in the fridge. Just put it in the oven and I'll make a salad or something when I get back. He might be staying her too so could you and your friends just keep the volume down low? Last time it was so loud that Mrs. Marshall came over to complain and she scares me. And Elias has a hard time getting to sleep as it is.'

'Mmm-hmm.' Daisy-May's eyes were narrowed and I noticed a quick flash of annoyance flash through them. 'Didn't he stay over twice last week? And he was here only a few days ago.'

'Do you have a problem with Elias?' I asked her, a cold edge to my voice. Daisy-May shook her head her eyes wide. 'Of course not! I love Elias – he's sound.' (she has to stop spending time with Aishling and Brendan. She's picked up on so much Irish slang I don't know what she's saying half of the time.)

'I like Elias.' she repeated.

I wondered if she was lying but she looked dead serious.

'Then what's the problem? I asked her my forehead creased in confusion. Daisy-May ducked her head so her quills were covering her face. She turned one wheel around slightly, the same way a lonely child might trace patterns on the ground with their feet.

'I don't like how he's always _**here**__.'_ she confessed.

'My friends are always coming around - Tikal stayed over only a few weeks ago - '

'Only because she was talking about Aaron and she always needs a drink or five whenever she brings up her relationship with him and eventually she was too drunk to stand up properly so we let her crash on the couch and - '

'_Anyway.' _I said, cutting her off. 'You wouldn't object if I had Maria or Cosmo or Tails or Charmy or Blaze or Knuckles or any of my other friends stay over ... this - this isn't any different!'

'It's completely different!' Daisy-May argued pointing at my hand which was resting on the steering wheel of my car. 'The two of you are _engaged_._'_

I looked at my hand and the ring shining on my finger. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and pulled my hand down off the wheel.

'Which I can live with.' my sister continued, 'But it's always so _awkward_ when he comes over. It's so hard for the two of you to have a conversation without it going to touchy subjects. And right now the touchy subjects are the wedding, Sonic, Sally and Megan. No matter what you two talk about you it always ends in an awkward silence because neither of you want to talk about them. It's really annoying is all.'

I closed my eyes trying not to let Daisy-May see the tears that were threatening to fall. It sometimes worked with Rouge and Tikal and some of the others, but not with Daisy-May. Her eyes widened, her expression became softer and when she spoke she sounded apologetic.

'Amy, I'm sorry. I just - it just makes me feel upset. The two of you look so unhappy - not like you don't like each-other but ... sorta empty. It's hard to - '

'I get it, I get it.' I sighed. 'Anyway, I'd better be going. I'll be home later okay?' _  
_

The two of us said goodbye and I watched Daisy-May roll to the door, open it and go inside. As soon as I could see that she was safe inside the house I started the car and drove back to the school.

I'm a very careful driver - I always buckle my seatbelt, I keep my eyes on the road, I never text or use the phone when I'm driving and I try not to let my thoughts wander in case I get distracted and crash and die (I'm the girl who took all of those ''Road Safety'' videos a little too seriously).

But after my conversation with Daisy-May I couldn't stop myself from wondering if what she said was true; Did Elias and I really act uncomfortable when we were together? Daisy-May seemed to think so ... and I remembered something else. Elias and I went to his cousins wedding a few months ago. I didn't know anybody so I told Elias I wasn't feeling very well and went home. I went to the bathroom before I left and while I was in the cubicle some other guests came in. I felt too awkward to come out and make small-talk while I washed my hands so I just stayed in there ... and I overheard their conversation.

_''So, did you meet anybody Clarissa?''_ the first voice was high-pitched and squeaky.

_''Nah. All of the guys here are either taken or boring.'' _the second voice was low and husky and she sounded like she had a lot of attitude.

_''What about Elias?''_

_''... Julie, where have you been for the last year?''_

_''Huh?''_

_''He's getting **married**.''_

_''What?! To who? Did he get back together with Megan?''_

_''No! He hasn't seen her in years. No, he's engaged to that pink hedgehog who was with him earlier. Ally or something.''_

_''Amy?''_

_''Bingo.''_

_''Really? I mean, that's great for them ... they've been dating a while, haven't they? But if I'm honest, I'm surprised they lasted this long.''_

_''What do you mean?''_

_''Well ... they don't exactly act like a couple, do they? The only time I've ever seen them kiss was at that New Year's party a few years ago - but that was becaue of tradition. And they never even hold hands or anything. It's weird.''_

_''Hm. You have a point.'' __  
_

_''Even if they're just sitting down together there's this ... tension. I can't explain it but they act like strangers who are trying to make conversation.''_

_''They've been friends for ten years and were dating for most of those ten. You'd think they'd be more comfortable when they're together.''_

_''You know what I think? I think that - ''_

_But I never found out what Clarissa was going to say. The bathroom door opened and the two of them stopped talking. I waited until the bathroom was silent and I knew it was empty before I opened the door, washed my hands and ran right out of the hotel and into my car without looking back._

I hadn't really thought much of what Clarissa and Julie had said; I didn't know them very well ... how could they make a true judgement on my relationship with Elias?

But Daisy-May is different ...

I parked in the car park and quickly made my way into the school. It was getting dark and I checked my watch; five o clock. The parents would be arriving soon.

I ran down the hall trying not to trip in my heels. Blaze was talking to Sasha, one of the French teachers. They smiled and waved at me and I waved and stopped outside my classroom door. I opened it up and sat down at my desk, flicking through my papers and pretending to be reading them even though I couldn't absorb any of the information.

I was still thinking about what Daisy-May had said, and trying to remember exactly how I felt when I was with Elias; we had been friends for years, surely I enjoyed spending time with him?

I'm pretty sure I did.

I mean, he's _Elias_. He's friendly and fun and yeah, he has a slight temper - but it's nothing compared to hot-headed Knuckles and defensive Rouge. We've been friends for ten years and we both made sacrifices for this so we understand how the other feels.

He's a good friend.

But it's not that simple.

Elias' parents are filthy rich. His father is the owner of a big business and his mother comes from a wealthy background and even did a bit of modeling when she was younger.

I have no idea what his father's business really does but he's always going to fancy dinners or throwing big dinner parties. Elias is handsome, polite and knows how to act around these important people of the business world.

The business is a family one and even though Sally is the older twin it will go to Elias because he is the boy (his parents aren't sexist, just a little old-fashioned. That's why they didn't approve of Megan.) Elias will need a son to take over when he retires. And he needs a wife to do that.

My mother's raised me to be well-mannered and stuff; I know which fork to use at which course and a bunch of other stuff I don't really see the point in. I feel like Mia in ''The Princess Diaries'' when she's getting Princess lessons from her grandmother. And even though I'm not drop-dead gorgeous or anything, Elias says that I'm pretty but not in a way you notice at first like you do with Maria and Tikal and some of the others.

He wasn't being mean or anything, he was explaining to me why his parents approved of me. They said I have this ''rosy-glow'' that makes me look beautiful but in a natural way (I have no clue what any of that means but it sounds nice).

Anyway, Elias has to take me to all of his parents' fancy dinner parties and stuff and I have to stay at Elias' side the entire time, acting all modest and shy. We have to keep up the couple image too and it feels so forced and awkward and neither of us want to do it.

Actually, I find it easier than Elias in a way. He's a much better actor than I am but I sometimes have to give him a hint that it's time to kiss me or hold my hand or something. But I still don't enjoy it; I feel like everyone's watching and judging me and I can never remember anybody's name. Elias isn't much of a help even though it's reassuring to know he's there. Every-time we go to a dinner-party together I can't help but think about how nice it would be if a black hole just swallowed me up so I could escape.

Then there are the days something that reminds us of our exes; a photograph, a song or even a rose in someone's garden. Neither of us want to talk about it so we just sit there in silence and it's the worst.

... when I was with Sonic I felt different. I felt beautiful and wonderful and so so happy it was unreal. It was like flying or that moment when you're on top of a roller-coaster and looking out over the whole world.

Before I could think any further there was a knock on the door. I jumped but relaxed when I realised that it was just one of the parents. I let them in and forced a smile, pushing all thoughts of my relationship out of my head.

I could think about this later.

**(x x x)**

'Hey guys!' I called out as I stepped into the kitchen. I could hear the excited laughter of Daisy-May and her friends over the television in the sitting room. There were pizza boxes on the table and a small (mostly empty) bowl of salad and some hamburger patty (Jade can't eat the processed cheese in pizza with her diabetes).

I dumped my handbag on the table and picked at one of the leftover slices of pizza, grimacing as I picked off the ham and pineapple (how Daisy-May can eat that I'll never know). I walked into the living room where the teenagers were. Jade, a black cat with the biggest green eyes was sprawled out on the sofa with her boyfriend Paul (a grey terrier with amber eyes) beside her. They both smiled at me but looked slightly nervous.

Daisy-May was in her wheelchair looking at me and smiling the same nervous smile as her friends. Before I could ask her any questions I heard foot-steps behind me. Daisy-May's eyes wandered to the person behind me and I remembered that her friend Taylor was there. I turned around to greet her then stopped, my eyes widening.

I guess that I'd forgotten Taylor could be a boy's name.

He was a gold-yellow lion with a bushy blonde mane with darker streaks. I guessed that he'd be a bit of a ''heart-throb'' with the girls in his year; he was tall and muscular, like he did a lot of sports. He had bright blue eyes and a nice smile.

My own smile faded when I saw him and I narrowed my eyes. His eyes became duller and his expression turned nervous.

'Hi,' he said taking a step towards me his hand held out to shake mine. His voice was flat but friendly; he sounded American and I remembered that Daisy-May said that Taylor had moved here from New York.

_Daisy-May!_ I shook Taylor's hand quickly before turning to face my sister who was staring at her shoes. Jade and Paul were watching us from the sofa, Paul's ears pricked and Jade's tail bristling with anticipation.

'Daisy-May, could we speak in the kitchen for a minute please?' I asked her, trying to keep my voice steady. I avoided looking at her friends and kept on staring at her. She stared right back, still nervous but determined.

'Sure.'

The two of us left the sitting room and entered the kitchen. Making sure the door was closed I spun around and cried, 'Why didn't you tell me that Taylor was a - a **_boy_?'**

'Does it matter?' Daisy-May asked me, flicking her hair back from her face looking almost bored. I rush of annoyance rushed through me and when I spoke to her again I sounded sharper.

'Yes actually, it does.' I said. 'You're too young to be dating - '

'Dating?!' she burst out, looking highly offended. 'Taylor and I ... we're just friends!'

I stared at her with my eyes narrowed, trying to read her expression. She looked offended and surprised but there was something else in her eyes, a glimmer I hadn't seen in her before.

'Look, I don't even know him _that_well.' she continued, 'I just sit next to him in English and - '

'In English?! Why didn't Blaze tell - '

'And,' she said loudly, cutting me off. 'He was new. He misses America and his friends so I thought I'd invite him over because he has a few classes with Paul. I was being **friendly**.'

I snorted. Daisy-May narrowed her eyes. 'Why are you always like this?'

'Huh?'

'Every-time a boy _looks_ at me you get all defensive. You wrote a note to the Year Head about Justin because he talked to me in History - '

'He was talking in class - '

'You didn't punish Lola and Polly and they were yapping the entire class!' she argued. 'And,' she added, 'I **am**old enough to date.'

'No you're - '

'I'm fifteen Amy!' she exploded. 'How old were Silver and Blaze? Shadow and Maria? **You and Sonic** - '

'Stop it.' I said to her, rage boiling up inside me; I was shaking with anger and I knew Daisy-May could see that she had gone too far. But even though she looked a little guilty her pride kept her from apologising.

She shot me an angry look and made her way out of the room. Before she left though, she looked over her shoulder. 'Just friends.' she repeated. 'That's all it is Amy, I swear.'

I nodded.

'Oh,' she continued, her tone turning sly. 'Someone came over looking for you earlier.'

'Huh? Who?'

'Sonic.' she said simply. 'I told him you weren't in but don't worry! I sorted it all out. The two of you are having lunch together ... tomorrow.'

And with that she rolled out of the room, smiling slightly. I stared after her, my eyes wide and mouth hanging open. My anger was forgotten and had been replaced with a million other emotions. Too many for me to name.

My phone buzzed and I took it out of my coat pocket.

_1 New Message_

**Talk to him. Oh, and dress up nice. He's been waiting to see you for eight years. Don't screw it up.**

**- Shadow**

I was going to kill that hedgehog.

**(x x x)**

**You might get the next chapter sooner than you got this one because I want to get to chapter five and six SO MUCH. Seriously, they're going to be drama filled and awesome and you'll have feels for a couple - there will be Sonamy feels of course but most of the feels will go towards a different couple ...**

**Then we'll find out what the hell is up with Blaze because she was acting weird earlier on, remember?**

**Anyway, it's time for my dinner so goodbye!**

**Scarstar xxx**


	4. Lunch

**Consider this a Christmas present :) I really hope you like it.**

**(x x x)**

I was hungry, having skipped breakfast to take Daisy-May to Aishling's house (Aishling often takes Daisy-May when I'm going out) but every time I tried to eat something my throat would close up and I couldn't swallow anything. I took a few sips of milk instead and waited.

It took another ten minutes for Sonic to show up – I still hadn't eaten anything and I was on my second glass of milk.

He walked into the coffee shop in a dark grey denim jacket and jeans. His quills were a little messy from the storm outside. His bright green eyes scanned the coffee shop stopping when they saw me. He smiled nervously and made his way to my table.

I had planned out a speech, giving out to him for being late blah blah blah, but as soon as he had walked in my brain had turned to mush; I couldn't think of what to say and I could feel my face burning and I knew that I was blushing.

_Really hormones? You're still doing this?_

'Hi Amy,' he said to me as he sat down. The annoying cobalt hedgehog was still smiling; didn't he know what an irritatingly nice smile he had?!

'I'm sorry I'm late,' he continued, 'But I was about to leave work when this woman came into the clinic holding a flicky with a badly damaged wing so I had to take care of that and - '

'Flicky? Clinic?' I repeated, 'Are you a vet?' I asked him feeling surprised.

Sonic nodded, 'Yep. All that time looking after chao really paid off! My clinic is in Rosewood – it's a city a good few miles from here.'

'Hm,' I sighed. I swallowed the last of my milk and ordered a third glass; the waitress left a jug of milk and gave me a dirty look.

Sonic watched me pour another glass, looking slightly amused and surprised. 'You're drinking a lot of milk.'

'I noticed. Anyway, what's wrong with that?'

Sonic shook his head. 'Nothing. It's just that you always drank it when you felt under pressure or scared or something.'

'Really?'

I was actually very surprised to hear that ... I had never noticed that I drank milk when I was nervous. But it would explain why I was drinking so much of it now.

'Really.' Sonic said, 'Like the day before Knuckles and Rouge graduated because you were scared of them leaving and forgetting all of us. And when Tails' parents got divorced, and when Cream and you had that fight when she was dating Monty and ignoring Charmy, and the night before you had that huge maths exam and you called me over to help you study. You were in hysterics. I swear, you drank at least ten glasses of milk.' He smiled as though he was re-living a happy memory. I couldn't stop myself from giggling. 'I remember that.' I told him. 'Robotnik was my teacher that year and I was terrified.'

'Yeah.' Sonic nodded, 'He hated me.'

'He hated everyone,' I said fairly. 'Well, he didn't really hate Shadow. Or Maria. But he hated the rest of us – especially you and Rouge!'

'Rouge was always winding him up in class and insulting him.' Sonic reminded me, 'I was just being my handsome, charming self! Ya know, I think he was a little jealous of my good looks!'

I laughed but quickly stopped when my milk nearly came out of my nose. I giggled weakly, 'I nearly did a Cream there.' I told him.

'Does that still happen to her?' he asked. I nodded a huge grin on my face as I remembered Cream's problem with drinks and laughing. 'Oh yeah. Charmy had a girlfriend over to dinner so that we could all meet her. Charmy told a joke and Cream ended up with a fountain of red wine coming from her nose and you know where it landed?'

'Let me guess ... all over the girlfriend?'

'Yes!'

The two of us laughed ... I had forgotten how much I loved Sonic's laugh. It felt so good to hear it again.

'Does Cosmo still live in her sweater-dresses?' Sonic asked me when our laughter stopped. I shrugged, 'I'm not sure. I mean she does if she's going out but a lot of the time she's too tired. And none of us have seen her in a while because of her new boyfriend - '

'Steven Woods?' Sonic asked me. I nodded, 'He was at Maria's house.'

'I know,' Sonic replied. His tone and expression were much darker now. 'I spoke to Cosmo briefly but before we could start a real conversation he came over and told me to go away ... or words to that affect'

My eyes widened, 'Wow. God. Ugh. He sounds like a total dick.'

'Tails agrees.' Sonic told me. 'The two of us went out for a drink the other night and he spent a lot of time telling me how much he hated Steven and loudly wondering what he was doing with Cosmo and what the hell she was thinking when she started dating him. I'm pretty sure he's jealous.'

'He's jealous.' I nodded. 'I know because the two of us took Mai out to the playground on Tuesday and he said the same so it wasn't just the alcohol that made him say those things. And I'm a girl and I know these things; call it my girlish intuition.'

Sonic laughed but when he began speaking again he sounded a little sad. 'It really is a shame they broke up ... they were so happy together.'

'Yeah. At least they're still friends ... they're one of those couples that have good chemistry as friends as well as a couple.'

'Yeah ...' there was a brief pause. Neither of us knew what to say; talking about Tails and Cosmo and romance had been a mistake because now the two of us had the same questions on our minds and I didn't want to answer them.

My stomach growled and Sonic laughed at my red-face and went up to order lunch. The two of us ate sandwiches (chili dogs in his case), pizza and cookies. For a few minutes there was silence as we ate. Then, Sonic said 'What's been going on with everyone? I didn't do a good job of keeping in touch and I didn't get a chance to talk to many people at Maria's house.'

So I told Sonic about Knuckles and Rouge's break-up and how neither of them would admit they still had feelings for each other. I told him how their daughter and Shadow and Maria's daughter were best friends. I told him about Charmy and Cream's stiuation and Tikal's complicated relationship with Aaron. I told him about everyone's jobs, their homes, their boyfriends, their girlfriends and children.

By the time I had finished most of the food was gone and it was half-past one.

'What about you?' Sonic asked me. 'How are things?'

Just the topic I wanted to avoid. How was I supposed to talk about my life and my engagemnt without bringing up old memories that I'd rather forget?

'I'm good ...' I began. 'I teach History at the school. It's not a bad job ... some of the students are a trial but it's nothing I can't handle. Daisy-May and I live together and she's a little mad but we're sisters. I'm used to it.'

'And ... Elias?'

'He's fine.' I said stiffly. 'Great actually. We get on very well.'

'Look ... ' Sonic began, sounding and looking uncomfortable. 'I'm sorry for how I acted at Shadow and Maria's place. I just didn't know what to expect and I saw you and I panicked because it's been so long. And ... it was a surprise too see you with Elias.'

'At least you didn't punch him this time.' I said drily.

Sonic pretended not to hear that. 'So ... will you forgive me?'

'Sure.' I said automatically. 'It wasn't really your fault ... who knows how I would've acted if the table had been turned.'

'So what about you?' I asked him, picking a piece of pepperoni off my pizza and popping it into my mouth. 'I know you're a vet ... but I don't know anything else. Any girls in your life?'

'No,' Sonic said quickly. 'No! I mean yes ... but no. I mean, I don't have a girlfriend. But there is a girl I've been talking too for a while and ... '

'So it's a _possible_ girlfriend?' I asked him my voice cold. _What was the matter with me? We had broken up years ago – I was engaged and over it. He could date whoever he wanted._

'Oh no! No, she's dating somebody. And she is living in London right now so it would be kinda hard ... '

'What's she like?' I found myself asking.

'Well, she's very pretty. But the first word that pops into my mind when I hear her name is ''stubborn''. She's also a little demanding'

'Why?' I asked him trying to mask my glee with curiosity.

So sue me! I was glad that Sonic wasn't blinded by this girls looks ... is that a crime? It doesn't really mean anything!

Does it?

'Well ...' Sonic looked (and sounded) uncomfortable. 'She just doesn't listen to anyone. If she thinks that it's the right thing to do then she will do it even if it's a _really_ bad idea.'

'She sounds like a handful.' I said.

'Yeah ... she's not like you. You're careful and you think about things ... you might even think about them too much.'

I blushed; I knew what he was talking about.

'I – I really miss you Amy.' Sonic said softly. My face darkened and I quickly looked away from him ... I felt a little dizzy. All of that milk was a mistake.

'I'm here aren't I?' I asked him. 'And you're here. And we're talking. You don't have to miss me now.'

'That's not what I – oh never-mind.' Sonic muttered, half to himself.

'No.' I said sharply. 'Tell me.'

Sonic rolled his eyes, 'I take it back; you're demanding as well.'

'_Sonic_ - '

'It's not important.'

'_Sonic the Hedgehog _- '

'Ouch. Why the full name?'

'Sonic. Please.' I said softly.

'It's just not the same.' Sonic blurted out. 'This doesn't feel the same. And ... and it doesn't make any sense because I **know** you - '

'You _knew_ me.' I corrected.

'No.' he interjected, 'I know you Amy.

'Sonic. Just – just don't do this.' I said trying to hold back tears. 'I – I'm getting married Sonic. I'm marrying Elias. In a few months I'll be Amanda Acorn, Elias Acorn's wife. And nothing can change that.'

I stood up, snatching my handbag. I pulled a few notes from my purse and set them down on the table.

'I can pay - '

'Don't do me any favors Hedgehog.' I hissed.

With that I stormed out of the coffee shop. I looked in through the window to see Sonic still sitting at the table; he was visibly upset but I bit my tongue, trying to ignore the pain in my chest. _It was his fault._

I turned away, dragging a hand across my eyes. I sniffed and then I set off down the road, the coffee shop and Sonic behind me.

**(x x x)**

**Aw, poor Sonic.**

**And poor Amy.**

**And poor Elias. At least, it will be poor Elias in the next chapter.**

**And just who is this mysterious girl Sonic was talking about? We all know her ...**

**Anyway, I hope you all had a great Christmas! I'm having a good one so far ... I feel happy which I haven't really felt in a while. Things haven't been going well.**

**So! Hope you liked this chapter :) The next chapter might have two parts ... it's drama.**

**All I'm going to say!**

**Scarstar xxx**


	5. Reunion I

**This is only half of the chapter but I'm going back to school in a few days and I wouldn't have this done before then so here you go :)**

**(x x x)**

I stormed into the house, tossing my coat and handbag onto the kitchen table. I marched over to the kettle and poured myself a cup of tea, banging pots and tins loudly on the counter.

_Stupid hedgehog!_ I thought, dumping sugar into my drink. _Who does he think he is? Coming along and acting like everything's normal when nobody has seen him in almost a decade! Of course things don't feel the same! If he had stayed in touch then we'd be getting along fine. We could be friends. But we can't because he hasn't spoken to me in years._

_**But**_ a little voice in the back of my head whispered **_You haven't kept in touch either. You dumped him, ran away and never spoke to him again! You can't blame him Amanda._**

_Ugh. Please don't call me that. Nobody calls me that unless they're telling me off or something._

_**That's exactly what I'm doing right now; I'm telling you off. Because you can't blame Sonic for not staying in touch when you haven't made much of an effort either! Don't be such a hypocrite.**_

_I'm not a hypocrite!_ I argued, bringing my drink to the table _And do you know how insane this is? I'm fighting with myself. _I shook my head_ Just be quiet okay?_

_**No.**_

_I'm going to stop now. This is really stupid. I have better things to do ... I can't waste my time arguing with annoying, stubborn voices! People will think I'm insane or something._

_**You're only stopping because you know I'm right.**_

_This is what I was talking - _

'Amy? Are you okay?'

I let out a little yelp, knocking over my cup of tea. I quickly leapt out of my seat to escape the scalding liquid.

'Sorry! Sorry!' Elias ran over to the counter and grabbed a tea-towel. 'Sorry Amy, I didn't mean to scare you.'

'Oh. That's okay Elias. I was just ... distracted.'

The two of us cleared up the mess. Elias made us some more tea and the two of us sat down at the kitchen table.

'I thought you were going to help your parents clear out some of Sally's old things today.' I frowned.

'Change of plans,' Elias told me, rolling his eyes. 'She called earlier and told me that she had to be somewhere. So I came back here and decided to clear out the guest room. There's still a ton of boxes from the attic at your old house that you haven't unpacked and sorted yet.'

'Oh. Well, thanks. But you didn't have to do that.' I told him.

'I know ... but I knew that if I didn't do it then you never would.' Elias laughed. I smiled weakly in return and drank some of my tea to stop myself saying anything; sometimes Elias made me feel like a little kid. He was so organised and mature ... and sometimes he said things that made me feel unimportant.

'I could help you put everything away,' I offered, 'We could do it faster if we worked together.'

'Sure. Sounds good.'

The two of us finished our tea and then I followed Elias into the living room. There were stacks of old books and baby toys and other things all over the place.

'I found some bubble-wrap that we could wrap some of the more delicate things in if you don't want to put them up anywhere.' Elias said, gesturing to a ceramic chicken that my mother used to keep eggs in.

'Good idea.' I smiled. I looked around the room for any more breakable ornaments. I didn't see anything that I really wanted to keep but I saw a few things that I knew my friends might like. 'See the lamp with the bunnies and the flowers? Maria might like something like that for Mai. And Cream could take the chicken.'

'Don't you want to keep anything?' Elias asked me. I shook my head. 'Not really. It's all nice stuff but none of it's really me. And the house is so small ... there isn't really any room for - '

'Not even this?' Elias handed me a long narrow box; I took it from him, confused. I felt like I had seen the box before but I couldn't think _where_. I opened it up and gasped – I nearly dropped the box in surprise.

A glass rose, with a green-tinted stem and red-tinted petals.

_Feels like I'm falling and I am lost in your eyes. You make me crazier, crazier, crazier._

I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the memory of that night.

I had broken my leg while playing with Daisy-May in the snow. I was gutted about missing my first school dance with my friends ... but that night, Sonic came over. We had a picnic and we danced together (very hard to do when you've broken your leg) and he had given me the rose as a present.

I opened my eyes and shook my head, handing the box back to Elias. 'No, you can bin this for all I care.' I told him, turning away.

'Amy ...' Elias sighed. 'As you wish.'

I moved over to the photographs. I opened up an old shoe-box and dug through it; the photos in here were full of the couples together, happy and laughing. Shadow and Maria, Silver and Blaze, Tails and Cosmo (I felt a pang of sadness looking at them), Knuckles and Rouge (ditto), Marine and Aishling, a few snapshots of Vector and Vanilla at their wedding, Mina and Ash at their engagement party, a sneaky photo Rouge had taken on Valentine's day of Bunnie and Antoine and even some of Cream and Monty and Tikal and Aaron. Of course there were a few of Sonic and I but I tried not too look at them.

Finally, near the very bottom of the box I found the photo I was looking for. I picked it up and handed it to Elias.

'You wanna keep **this**?' I asked innocently, trying not to feel to guilty when I saw his expression

I placed myself beside him and looked at the photo too.

The teenage couple in the picture were curled up on a white leather couch together. The girl's head was resting on the boy's shoulder and the boy had an arm around her. Their bodies were pressed together as though they were worried that something (or someone) might force them apart. They looked so happy and in love.

The girl was a beautiful squirrel, with dark wavy hair and bright green eyes. She had a long bushy tail.

The boy had dark red hair and a short tail. His eyes were blue and there was a small smile on his face.

The boy was Elias. The girl was Megan.

Elias looked at the picture before tossing it aside. I watched it floating down to the floor, suddenly scared about how Elias would react.

'I don't want it.' he said coldly.

'Elias, I'm sorry. I - '

'Amy _**shut up**_.' he barked. I flinched; he was really angry now. But I stood my ground and met his eye.

'Don't loose your temper with me.' I told him. Elias blinked; he looked a little sheepish. 'Sorry.'

'I know you are.'

'I just ... It's so hard. She was my best friend ... and she's not here anymore. And I hate feeling like this' he confessed.

'It was hard for me too.' I pointed out; I sounded more defensive than I had intended but I didn't really care. 'Breaking up with Sonic. But – But I'm over it. You have to get over Megan too.'

Elias sat down on the couch, his face in his hands. 'It was different for you.' he muttered.

'How?' I asked him, eyes narrowed.

'Because ... because _you _left Sonic. _You_ broke up with_ him_.'

'So?' I asked him, a wave of guilt washing over me.

'Megan broke up with me.' he whispered.

_Oh shit._ I thought _I forgot about that._

'Elias ... I'm really sorry. I didn't - '

I was cut off by the phone ringing. I picked it up and spoke into it. 'Hello? Oh, Mrs. Acorn? Sorry, Alica. How are – Elias?' I glanced over at him. His head was raised now and he looked curious instead of angry. 'Yeah, yeah. He's here. Yeah. You can talk to him.'

I passed Elias the phone and he began speaking to his mother. I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. I picked up the cups from the table and washed them. I looked up at the clock; it was almost three o clock. Daisy-May wouldn't be home for another _hour_.

I sighed; I wasn't looking forward to another hour with Elias when he was like this.

'Amy.'

_Speak of the devil _I thought, turning around to face him. 'Look Elias, I'm really really sorry for bringing up Megan. It was insensitive and it's just because I feel really angry at Sonic and - '

'Amy!' Elias said, 'Listen, we have to go to my parent's place.'

'Why?' I asked. 'Are they okay?'

'Well ... nobody's sick or anything. But my mother sounded worried on the phone. She wants us to come over. Now.'

'Okay okay. I'll just grab the car-keys.'

**(x x x)**

We drove to the house without speaking. Elias was watching the road but I could tell that there were other things on his mind – he missed traffic lights and almost went down the wrong road.

Me? I was trying to think of anything but Sonic and thinking of nothing but him.

Why did this have to happen? It wasn't fair ... for either of us. It was obvious that Sonic still had feelings for me – even _I _could see that.

But did I still have feelings for him?

I groaned in frustration; I just didn't **know**. I mean ... I did have feelings for him after we broke up. But I had worked hard at squashing them; I was pretty sure I was over him.

Until now.

'We're here.' Elias said. The two of us got out of the car and walked towards the front door of the house.

I'm sorry did I say house? **More like a fucking mansion.**

I am not kidding it is _huge_. They have a pool and a patio and a wine-cellar and a conservatory and a load of other rooms I thought only existed in Agatha Christie novels and Cluedo.

They have a cook, two cleaners, a gardener, a valet, a lady's maid and a butler. It's insane.

Elias rang the doorbell and the door was almost immediately opened by George, the butler. He had been with the family for years, since before I had even moved here!

'Good afternoon Master Elias, Miss Rose.' George greeted us.

'Good afternoon George,' Elias replied. I echoed Elias, grinning despite myself; _Master Elias_. I still thought that it was funny – George being so formal and all.

'Mother wanted us to come over ... where is she?'

'Your mother is in the living room with her guests. Master Acorn will be home soon.'

'Great.' Elias muttered. 'Anyway, thank you George.'

'Guests? What guests?' I asked the butler.

'You'll see.' George replied grimly. He walked off leaving Elias and I standing there and feeling confused.

We walked down the hall towards the living room. 'If she called us all the way down here so we could meet her friends ...' Elias muttered, pulling the door open.

The two of us walked inside and froze.

Mrs. Acorn – or _Alica_ – was sitting on the plush velvet sofa, wringing her hands. She smiled nervously at the two of us.

On the sofa opposite her, there were two other squirrels sitting there. Both were girls and I recognised both of them right away. The first squirrel had her hair curled and trimmed but her green eyes and bushy tail were enough.

'M – Megan?' Elias squeaked, his eyes wide with shock. Megan tried to smile but she was shaking; she threw a desperate look at the girl beside her but she didn't even blink.

'Oh that's nice.' she teased. 'You haven't seen your poor old sister in years and you don't even look at her. No, Megan is the only one you notice.'

The girl laughed; she had bushy red hair and shiny blue eyes. She smiled at me. 'Hi Amy. Good to see ya. How's Sonic?'

'_Sally?!_' I gasped.

**(x x x)**

**I actually went and googled butlers and what they do and what they would call everyone in the house.**

**I hope you appreciate what I go through for this story.**

**I'm joking.**

**So. Sally's back! I'm happy to have her in the story :) I love her in this, I really do.**

**I like her development in ISITC too ...**

**Start of story: I hate Amy why does Sonic like her it's not fair I've known him longer but I'm polite so I'll be civil but grr.**

**End of story: Sonic you bitch go and tell Amy how you feel omg do you know what this feels like agh stupid feels you guys are my otp next to elias and megs okay so don't ruin this for me.**

**Megan's back too! We didn't see a lot of her in ISITC but she will play a bigger part in this story.**

**So ... Sonic will be in the next chapter. Sally's boyfriend might be there too, I'm not really sure. He won't play a big part in the story I just want to show that Sally's completely over Sonic.**

**Daisy-May and Elias might be there. I'm pretty sure Cosmo will be there too.**

**Anyway, ciao!**

**Scarstar xxx**


	6. Reunion II

**I am really sorry that this is so late! I've been really busy with drama and school.**

**SO this chapter has some Sonamy. **

**And Sally who is now a shipper. She is now officially the most relatable character in the story because she's just a girl trying to make her OTPs canon.**

**Very like the readers of this fanfiction.**

**(x x x)**

'Mother, would you mind giving us some privacy? I need to talk to these guys alone.' Sally smiled.

Alicia nodded but she didn't look very pleased; she hadn't seen her daughter in years and now said daughter was asking her to leave? But she stood up and brushed her pale purple skirt and said, 'Of course dear.'

She left the room: Megan tried to follow her out but Sally looked up at her, eyes narrowed. 'Where are you off to Megan?'

'Oh, I – uh. I'm not really needed ... I'll just - '

'Nonsense!' Sally pulled Megan back down beside her. And looked over at us – well, at _Elias._ He was still staring at her; their eyes met and they both blushed and ducked away.

I tugged Elias' sleeve and the two of us sat down.

There was a long silence; Sally's eyes were narrowed and she looked like she was thinking deeply about something. Nobody else knew what to say so we just sat there.

I tugged Elias' sleeve for a second time. He looked up at me and I tipped my head towards Sally. He got the message and looked at his sister. The two of them stood up and hugged.

'Hey Sal,'

'Hi little brother!' she smiled. Megan tried to cover up her giggles.

'Sal,' Elias sighed. 'You're only two minutes older than me.'

'Don't ruin the moment.'

The two of them broke apart. Sally sat down again, smoothing out her black pencil-skirt; I had forgotten how pretty she was. I used to be so envious about her looks because I was sure that Sonic would -

**Oh my god stop it Amy Rose.**

'So,' I began, trying to distract myself. 'Sally.'

'Amy.' she replied, mimicking my questioning tone. I tried to ignore it but I felt a twinge of annoyance.

'Where exactly have you _been_?' I asked. Elias nodded. 'Yeah!' Elias added, 'Nobody has seen you in, what, two years?'

'Actually, Fiona came to visit me once but I made her swear to secrecy - '

'Without telling anyone where you were - '

'Actually I told a small and exclusive group of people and I made them swear to secrecy - '

'You never even _phoned _- '

Sally opened her mouth as if she was going to say something but I glared at her. 'If I hear you tell us how you swore somebody to secrecy I will actually kill somebody.'

Sally looked highly affronted; 'I was _actually_ going to apologise for that. I meant to call you a few times, I really did. I promise you – and I never break a promise.'

Elias snorted. Sally acted like she hadn't heard him but she suddenly looked very guilty. Megan was still trying (and failing) to avoid looking at Elias. He looked at her quickly and tried to look angry but he didn't succeed.

I watched the two of them and I felt a strange feeling inside me; it wasn't jealousy which surprised me (because this _was_ my fiance's ex-girlfriend). It took me a minute to figure out that the feeling was pity: I felt sorry for them.

I couldn't read Elias' expression properly because his face was set like stone so he looked neutral; he was good at hiding his emotions. But I could see Megan – the guilt in her eyes, her arms wrapped around her body as though she were trying to comfort herself, the way she looked Elias – a look that was full of longing and regret.

Suddenly, Elias and Megan disappeared and they were replaced with two other figures. Two hedgehogs.

It was me and Sonic.

A lump in my throat formed and I had to look away. Memories and images flashed through my mind, all of things I'd rather forget.

_''I don't care how much it's going to hurt in the future because I'm thinking about how I feel right now. And right now ...''_

_''I love you.''_

_''You're so beautiful.''_

_''What about this dress?'' ''Hm ... it's pretty I guess.'' ''Isn't it just?'' ''But I think it would look ten times prettier when you're wearing it.'' ''... shut up ...''_

_''Why are we doing this again?'' ''Because they always do it in the films Sonia likes to watch.'' ''Sonic. It is freezing. I don't have waterproof make-up on. Or a coat.'' ''They don't have those things in the film me and Sonia watched either.'' ''Sonic, what I want to know is **why **you were watching _The Notebook. _You can't stand watching _Titanic _and _The Notebook_ doesn't have any sinking ships or shooting or anything. Unless you're trying to hide - '' ''I was bored.'' ''Of course you were. Anyway, I don't care how romantic this film was we are **not** kissing in the rain. It is cold and wet and mascara-down-my-face isn't a look that I can pull off.'' ''Okay. Sorry.'' ''But ... I have no objection to kissing you inside ...''_

_''You're beautiful Amy Rose.'' ''Thank you. And – and thank you ... this – tonight. It was incredible. I love you.''_

_''Lets run away. We could do it right now. You and me. We could be together and nothing could stop us ... you don't have to go through with it Amy - ''_

I bit down on my tongue to stop the rest of that memory. The lump in my throat had expanded and it tasted salty, like tears. I rubbed my eyes, faking a yawn so that the others would just think I was tired. Then, looking for a distraction I turned back to Sally.

My future sister-in-law was still sitting calmly on the sofa. Her eyes were narrows and she looked pensive now, quietly observing all of us.

'And you just turn up, _dragging_ Megan along with you and just say ''hello''. We had to move the date for our _wedding_ because we wouldn't do it without you here!' I said, bringing Elias and Megan back in to reality.

Sally's eyes glowed when she heard that.

'Yes, when _is _the wedding anyway?' she asked innocently. I snorted: 'What, you want to make sure that you can miss it again?'

'No, I really want to go this time.' Sally replied. Elias and I both hesitated. Sally saw our expressions and quickly continued, 'I'm really sorry that I ruined your wedding guys. But I had more important things to do and - '

'_**More**_ important things?' Elias exclaimed.

'Okay let me rephrase that - '

'What could be more important than your brother's wedding? - remember Sal? You promised.'

'I know.' Sally whispered. She wiped her eyes; they were shining again, but this time they were shining with tears.

I looked over at Megan; she hadn't said much which I knew was unusual for her; she didn't like to be kept out of things.

'It wouldn't be so bad if you told us where you _were._' Elias said. 'But you haven't even - '

'I was traveling.'

'Traveling?!' Elias and I stared at her, the same expression of disbelief on our faces.

'Yes. I was in Paris and New York and Tokyo and Dublin and London – all of those big cities.' Sally explained.

I gaped at Sally, slowly shaking my head. What had she been _thinking_? Did she just wake up on the morning of the wedding and randomly decide that she was going to London without telling anybody?

I remembered when Sally left. I was the one who had to miss work to drive over here to comfort Elias and his parents. I had to call everyone we knew and see if anyone had any idea of where she was. Even Sonic – but I made Blaze make that phone-call. I remembered Sally's room (she still lived with her parents). The room was a mess, the duvet on the floor, clothes draped over chairs and strewn across the floor. Half of her possessions were still in the house – her make-up, some of her clothes, her iPod ... you could tell that it was a spur of the moment decision.

But her purse, her phone, her laptop, her passport were all gone. She had left a short note, saying that she was sorry but she had to go and that she'd be back soon.

Nobody knew where she was. She hadn't told anyone.

She just ... vanished.

Alicia and Max almost called the police – Fiona and Elias convinced him not too; they had faith in Sally. They thought that she'd come back.

But she didn't.

'Well ...' Sally looked a little uncomfortable; she didn't seem to know how to explain herself. 'I – I didn't just decide to travel for the fun of it. I **had** too.'

'Why?' Elias challenged. 'What – what possessed you to do this? What were you even doing in Paris and New York and all of those other places Sal? What - '

'She was trying to find me.'

Elias spun around, wide-eyed. I followed suit. We stared at Megan, who looked like she wished she hadn't spoken. Sally was staring at her too, but she didn't look shocked. She smiled warmly at the squirrel. Her expression was one of relief and gratitude.

'Find you?' I echoed. The two girls nodded. 'I was trying to find her.' Sally confirmed.

'But – but what do you mean? She wasn't lost or anything ... I thought that she was just travelling after college?'

'I was.' Megan whispered. 'It was so strange ... I was in London. I was sight-seeing, doing all the tourist-y things. Big Ben, The London Eye, The V&A, The British Museum – all of those.' Megan explained. 'But then ... I was out one day, walking and walking when I bumped into somebody.' she looked over at Sally.

'You better appreciate that!' Sally said. 'It took me forever to find you. You weren't friends with any of us on facebook anymore so I couldn't see any of your information. I had to find one of your facebook friends, prove to them that I wasn't some nutter and get some information from them. Then it took ages to plan out how I was going to leave home, because I knew that if I told anyone they'd stop me. So I woke up early one morning and just threw my things into a bag and set off. But by the time I got to New York, the hotel your friend said you were staying in said you had left three days before I got there! So I tried Tokyo and Paris and Dublin and then I finally found you in London. Once I had your exact location it wasn't hard to find you; I figured that you'd act like a tourist and go to all the big-name tourist places. Then I found you and spent three months living with you because you wouldn't come back.'

'Why didn't you come back?' I said, wondering out loud. A pained look came upon Megan's face. Sally shook her head and threw a pointed glance at me and Elias.

'Oh.' I said, understanding what Sally was trying to say.

'Oh indeed Miss Rose.' Sally agreed.

I felt very uncomfortable. I flushed and quickly sat down, staring and my feet and trying to hide my red face.

Elias didn't sit down; he was still standing and staring at Megan. I couldn't read his expression properly but I knew that this was hurting him greatly. His eyes were shining with tears. Megan sniffed and ducked her head down. I saw a single tear fall down and leave a tiny dark mark on the carpet.

'Amy,' Sally said. I looked up at the pretty squirrel. She took my arm and led me to the door. 'I think that these two need some privacy.'

'Why aren't you leaving then?' I said sharply.

Sally grinned. 'Well, someone's gotta make sure that they actually talk. And make sure that they keep the ''reunion'' PG.'

'This really isn't appropriate Sally.' I pointed out. 'That's my _fiance - '_

'Ah. Yes, I almost forgot. All the more reason for me to stay then!'

She pushed me out the door and quickly shut it behind me. I stumbled from the force of her push and ran into somebody.

'Sorry!'

'No problem Ames.'

I flinched and quickly jumped away, my fur bristling. Sonic was standing there and he wasn't alone – a tall brown monkey with blue eyes and a bandanna was standing behind him, watching the scene play out with amusement.

He saw my questioning gaze and held out a hand to introduce himself. 'Ken Khan. But I'm fine with Monkey Khan.' he said. I gingerly placed my hand in his and we shook.

'Amy Rose.'

'I know. This guy wouldn't shut up about you on the way over - '

'Ken, _please _- '

'And my girlfriend talks about you.'

It took me a minute to realize who he was talking about. 'Sally?'

A dreamy look came upon Ken's face. 'Yeah, Sally ...'

'Err ... right.' I turned to look at Sonic but I didn't meet his eyes; I remembered our fight earlier – had it only happened that morning? It felt like a different lifetime.

'What are you doing here?' I asked him; I sounded harsher than I meant to but I didn't really care.

If I was mean to Sonic he might leave me alone. Somehow that thought didn't make me feel happier ... it actually made me feel worse.

'Someone had to bring Sally, Megan and Khan from the airport.' he pointed out.

'Wait – what – _Sally?!_' I gasped, the puzzle pieces coming together. 'She's the girl you were talking too! The one you told me about this morning!'

'Yeah,' Sonic nodded. 'Anyway, about this morning. Amy I'm - '

'I know. I know Sonic ... I'm sorry too.' I whispered. Sonic's face broke into a smile and I felt like smiling too; a large weight seemed to come off my chest.

'Amy ... there's no point in acting like this.' Sonic told me. 'I'm sorry for this morning – lets just ... lets just try to be friends, okay?'

'Friends.' I repeated, letting myself smile.

We shook hands; a spark ran up through my arm, spreading a warm, familiar, feeling all through my body from the top of my ears to the tips of my toes.

The spark was still there.

**(x x x)**

**Aww :) **

**I finally decided to give you some happy Sonamy!**

**I was going to have more with the Cosmo and Silvaze storylines and have the rest of the girls do something and Alex and Daisy-May but if I put it into this chapter it would feel rushed and forced. The next chapter will have the other characters – I miss the gang. Do you guys miss the gang? I really do.**

**Anyway, it's time for me to have breakfast.**

**Ciao!**

**Scarstar xxx**


	7. Conflict

**I actually updated this story.**

**Huh.**

**I've been really busy learning songs for my drama auditions which is why this was a little late. But I think that this chapter is pretty good ... I think you guys will enjoy it. Sonic isn't in it (but I promise he will become a much bigger character soon – he's in the next chapter!) but he is mentioned a few times! **

**I've even managed to move a few subplots along!**

**Enjoy :)**

**(x x x)**

'So Sally's back?' Tikal asked, looking up from the carrots she was chopping. 'Like, she's actually _here? _She's actually at her parents house right?'

'No Tikal. I'm making it up.' I rolled my eyes. '_Yes_. She's back. Elias and I saw her yesterday and it was a very weird experience.

'Just checking ...' Tikal muttered. 'None of you believed me when I said that I saw Sally - '

'Tikal, that's because you were _drunk_. And you were drunk because you always drink when someone talks about Aaron.' Blaze pointed out.

'I do not!' Tikal huffed.

'The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.' Rouge smirked.

Tikal chucked a tea-towel at Rouge. It landed on her head, covering her face. Rouge pulled it off, looking annoyed but she didn't say any more to Tikal.

We were in Maria's house, helping Maria to cook a fancy dinner; Shadow's family were coming over and Maria wanted to impress them ...

Too bad she still couldn't cook.

Marine and Tikal were chopping vegetables for a salad. Rouge was standing at the stove, stirring a sweet-smelling soup. Cream was kneading dough to make her gorgeous hazel-nut bread. Blaze was washing fruit for dessert. Marine and I had been given the _lovely _task of chopping the raw meat. Cosmo wasn't here; Maria had invited her but hadn't heard anything from the green seedrian. Aishling was going on a blind-date with a friend of Tikal's.

Maria was sitting at the table, not trusted with a task. She didn't seem to mind much.

'Anyway, I left soon after that.' I told the girls. 'I figured that Elias needed some privacy to talk to Sally about all of this. Megan came too. Sonic dropped her off at a hotel and he dropped me off at Aishling's because I thought that Daisy-May might be getting worried about me.

'So _Sonic _dropped you off?' Rouge asked, sounding very interested. My face flushed. 'Yes,' I answered, trying to hold back my annoyance. 'Sonic dropped me off at Aishling's house ... that was **it**.'

'I'm _just_ saying,' Rouge snapped, 'That the two of you ... alone ... in a car - '

'Okay! Lets keep the conversation PG Rouge!' Maria cried. We looked across the room where Emily and Mai were playing with dolls. They hadn't even noticed us and were busy stripping their Barbie's and putting them in new outfits for a fashion show.

'Sorry.' Rouge said sheepishly. She shook some salt into the soup and continued to stir it as she spoke; 'It's just ... you two have a lot of history together - '

'You're forgetting that I'm _**engaged**_.' I reminded Rouge, raising my hand to show her the ring on my finger; it was a beautiful ring, the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, diamonds that shone like the moon on water. It was odd though ... I didn't really care for it. It was just something I wore, that I didn't even notice most of the time until I looked at it and I felt a weird feeling in my stomach; like butterflies only the butterflies were accompanied by a feeling of dread and ...

Okay. Stop it Amy Rose ... you're just nervous because the wedding is so soon. It's nothing to do with the groom – you _like_ Elias. He's kind. He can be funny. You've known him for years. And who knows? You might even learn to love him.

That's what I told myself anyway.

'I'm still don't think that any of this is right Amy.' Blaze said to me. I winced slightly and pretended that I hadn't heard her; this conversation was all too familiar to me.

'I agree.' Tikal nodded. 'It's really unfair Ames.'

'Guys, can we leave it for one afternoon?' I protested weakly. Cream and Maria shot me sympathetic looks; they didn't like the whole arranged marriage thing either, but they knew that I liked talking about it even less.

'We're just worried about you.' Marine said. 'No offense but you can be a little ... _emotional_.'

'I am not emotional!' I cried. Rouge raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

'I think that Marine has a point Amy ...' Cream said, her voice a nervous squeak. 'Yeah, you _do_ tend to keep your feelings bottled up and it's like a time-bomb. It goes _tick tick tick_ and then one day you just explode.' Maria added

I bit my tongue to stop myself making a sharp reply. I bit down a little harder than I intended too and winced slightly. Maria looked worried, thinking that they were the cause of the wince.

'We think you're so brave for doing this Amy,' Maria murmured. She got up from her seat and put her arms around my back, hugging me. 'But we don't want to see you get hurt.'

'We're just worried is all.'

'You shouldn't have to do it ... I mean ... there must be some other way - '

'Girls!' I protested. 'You make it sound like I'm going to lock myself in a cage full of man-eating beasts! I'm _just_ getting married.'

'But it's an _arranged_ marriage.' Blaze muttered.

'It's not _arranged!' _I argued. 'It's more ... organised. Like when Queen Victoria's uncle arranged for her and Prince Albert to meet because he hoped they'd get married. They chose to be together.'

(I **am** a history teacher)

Blaze let out an exasperated sigh but didn't say anything else. Nobody did. For a few minutes the only noise was the running tap and Mai and Emily playing across the room. Maria was staring into space, a glassy look in her eyes. Everyone else looked equally distracted.

Cream's mobile went off, snapping us out of our trance. Her eyes shone and she quickly took it out of her pocket and answered the call. 'Hi Charmy!' she giggled.

Rouge and Tikal rolled their eyes but it was in a good-natured way.

'How did it go? ... uh-huh ... yeah? ... really?! That's great! Okay ... yeah ... you gonna bring her around to meet me soon? Okay ... okay, remember we have that paper due on Monday ...Yeah. Okay, I love you too. Bye!'

Cream slipped her phone back into her pocket, her eyes still glowing ... but they were a little duller and sadder than they had been only a minute before. The rest of us stared at her, with questioning expressions.

'That was Charmy. ' she explained.

'We figured.' Tikal grinned. 'He's the only guy you'd ever say ''I love you'' too.'

'That's because he's the only guy I love at this moment in time. Except Vector but he doesn't really count because he's like, my step-dad. I have to love him. Charmy's different.'

'You know, I always assumed that you two would get together.' I said. It was true; I knew that Cream was obsessed with Monty for a while, but I thought that when the two of them broke up she'd find out she really loved Charmy and ...

... maybe I read too much fanfiction when I was in school.

Cream stared at me, a look of pure disgust on her face. 'Eww!' she shrieked. I couldn't help but giggle; she looked and sounded so appalled it was actually funny. 'No way! Date Charmy? That's just wrong on sooo many levels – he's like ... my _brother. _**Yuck** no way. Ew.'

'We get it Cream! You don't want to date Charmy. That's fine.' I said. Cream relaxed slightly.

'So why was he calling? Marine asked. 'He just went on a date with this really nice girl in the room across the hall.' Cream explained. 'I told him to call me when it was over and tell me how it went.'

'And how did it go?'

Cream looked down at the pastry for her bread. 'He said it went well. They're going out again next week.'

For some reason Cream didn't look very happy. I was puzzled; if she didn't have feelings for Charmy, shouldn't she be happy that he might have found someone?

'I wonder how Aishling's doing on her date ...' Marine piped up.

'She'll be fine. Dylan's really nice.' Tikal assured her.

'It's kinda weird that she's going out with a guy again though. I mean, there was Marine and then she dated that other girl for her name – the one with the dark hair and the weird laugh remember her?'

'Janice? She was really annoying.' I shuddered.

Before anyone could say anymore about Aishling's dating life, the doorbell rang. 'I'll get it!' Maria said excitedly. She leapt out of her seat and ran out of the room. She returned a few seconds later, dragging Cosmo behind her.

'Look who decided to show up!' Rouge teased. Cosmo grinned sheepishly. 'Yes, sorry I'm late. I had to take a longer shift at the cafe today and Stephen didn't really want me to come. I managed to convince him to let me come though.'

Marine and I looked at each other; we had the same expressions of worry and annoyance. _Stephen_ didn't want her to come? Stephen didn't have a right to keep Cosmo away from her friends.

'Well, we're just about done getting the food ready.' Tikal said, looking around the kitchen. Cream's rolls were in the oven, Rouge's soup had a lid over it, the fruit was in a bowl and the chicken was wrapped up in bacon.

'Oh. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner.' Cosmo apologised.

'That's fine Coz!' Rouge replied, smiling at her. Instead of snapping at Rouge for using the nickname Cosmo just nodded and stared down at her feet. Rouge looked surprised and a little hurt. Everyone looked a little worried, Cream especially.

An uneasy silence filled the room which was broken by a growling sound. I jumped slightly and my face turned red as the other girls laughed.

'I think that Amy's stomach speaks for all of us.' Blaze laughed. 'Lets have some lunch. I was up all night grading papers and didn't have enough time for a proper breakfast this morning. Lets eat something!'

Maria began poking around the kitchen, looking for something for us to eat. She opened up the fridge and shook her head. 'Nothing,' she told us. 'Shadow said he'd get some things while he was out but he won't be back for another hour.'

'Maria, I don't think I can wait that long!' Tikal cried, pretending to faint; she lay across the table and put on a pained expression. 'Oh woe is me! Maria, oh sweet Maria, why will you not give me any food? I am quite sure that I will collapse if I do not get any nourishment soon ... oh if only you would help end this torture, dear sweet Maria. Why art thou so cruel?'

Maria giggled, delighted with Tikal's performance. Rouge and I began clapping. Blaze rolled her eyes but she was smiling, 'Drama queen.' she teased.

Emily and Mai looked up from their game of Barbies and watched us with worried eyes. 'Mum, is Aunt Tikal okay?' Emily asked nervously.

'I'm fine Em!' Tikal piped up, pushing herself off the desk. 'I'm just practicing my acting – the community theatre is putting on a show soon and auditions are in a few weeks!'

'What's the show?' Cosmo asked her.

'The show? Wait for it ... it's _Mamma Mia!_'

'Oh I love _Mamma Mia_!' Blaze exclaimed, eyes glowing.

We all turned around to face her, with raised-eyebrows and smirks; Blaze had always looked down on musicals, deeming them as ''silly''. Blaze realised what she had just said and blushed. 'Er, I mean it's okay. For a musical.'

'Whatever you say Blaze ...' Marine muttered.

'Who are you trying out for?' I asked. Tikal shrugged, 'I don't really know yet.' she confessed. 'I'd kill to play Rosie or Tanya but they're usually played by the older actresses. I'll probably end up getting one of Sophie's cousins or someone like that ... I don't really mind. I just like being on stage.'

'Big change from when we did the talent show. The one we sang that Emily Osment song at. I remember that you were so nervous you almost got sick; you were all green.'

'Oh I remember doing that! It was really fun – we sang _Truth or Dare _didn't we?' Maria beamed. 'It was so funny – we were all annoyed at Cosmo because she signed us up without asking - '

'Remember how the boys took part as well? They sung that song, _Stutter_, and we were all shocked because they hadn't told us anything about it.' Marine was smiling at the memory.

'The boys singing that was easily my favourite part of the night.' Rouge smiled. She looked happy, but when I looked at her closely I saw that her smile was a little sad, her eyes a little misty.

'I don't need to tell you what _my _favourite part of the night was.' Maria said shyly.

We all spent a few seconds in silence, remembering Shadow's emotional performance of _Goodbye My Lover_. Then Tikal's stomach growled, which ruined the moment. Maria resumed her search for some food while Rouge began scrolling through her phone, searching for numbers for takeaways. Maria gave up her search after ten minutes and we all decided to order pizza.

Twenty minutes later we were all sitting down and breathing in the delicious cheesy smell from the boxes before us. We fell on our food as though we hadn't eaten in months. Mai and Emily began asking us to tell them more stories about what we did at the talent show. Maria managed to find a photo album with photographs of our various acts in the talent shows – _Truth or Dare, Born This Way, The Promise_ and_ Wannabe _(Tikal was once a closeted Spice Girls fan).

Lunch was great fun; I was happy, happier then I had been in a while. I missed this. I missed it when we always had a lunch like this, laughing and chatting, before Daisy-May's accident, and Tails' parents split up and before ...

Before Sonic and I broke up.

I let out a small sigh; things were so much easier when we were together.

There was a loud gasp beside me. Cosmo had accidentally knocked over her glass of water and there was a small puddle on the floor, with broken glass everywhere.

'Girls, stay in your seats.' Rouge ordered. Emily and Mai nodded and pulled their legs up onto their chairs. Maria ran to get a dustpan and brush. Cream mopped up the water.

Cosmo was shaking in her seat, her face white as a sheet and her eyes wide with fear. 'I'm so sorry Maria! It was an accident ... I wasn't looking and - '

'Don't fret Cosmo, it's fine.' Maria tried to reassure her. Cosmo shook her head and muttered under her breath. I picked out the words ''useless'' and ''clumsy''.

'Hey, it's nothing to worry about Cosmo.' I said, forcing a smile to try and comfort her. It was very hard to do because Cosmo looked so upset over her mistake. I had no idea why she was acting like this.

Cream on the other hand, had stopped mopping the floor and was watching Cosmo. Her eyes were narrowed but she didn't look like she was annoyed or was judging Cosmo. She looked like she was trying to see her a little better. She looked worried.

When the mess was gone, Cosmo got out of her seat and brought her plate, still full of pizza, over to the sink. She set it down on the counter and turned to look at us all. 'Thank you for the food.' she said solemnly, 'But I should get going.'

'Aunt Cosmo!' Mai cried, looking heart-broken. 'You just got here! And I wanted you to tell me more stories ... Uncle Tails said that you entered a Science Project competition with him when you were still in primary school and he said that you could tell me about it when I saw you! Please please stay!'

'Mai has a point Coz,' Blaze pointed out. 'You haven't stayed long. It hasn't even been an hour. Come on ... we were all going to stay for a little longer.'

'No, I really should be going.' Cosmo said sadly. 'I was going to help mum at the shop later - '

'Tails said he might come over – he wanted to see Mai.' Maria piped up.

Cosmo looked up at the mention of her best friend. 'Tails?' she echoed. For a second she looked like she might reconsider leaving but she shook her head. 'I can't. I have to go and help mum.' she paused. 'Anyway, Stephen wouldn't like it.'

'_Stephen _wouldn't like it?' Tikal whispered, a look of shock on her face.

Cosmo didn't hear her. She made her way out of the kitchen, saying ''goodbye'' over her shoulder. A few seconds later we heard the front door open and close and she had gone.

'Girls,' Maria said to Mai and Emily. 'Why don't you watch a DVD? I can bring you some snacks in a few minutes. What about that nice one Auntie Eva gave you last week?'

'_Beauty and the Beast_? Nguội!' Mai exclaimed. The two little girls hopped down from their chairs and ran into the living room to watch their film.

Cream watched them go, a hint of longing in her eyes. I remembered that she and Charmy would sneak downstairs very early in the morning when they were teenagers and watch Disney DVDs.

'I love _Beauty and the Beast_ ...' she said.

'Well, you can't watch it just now.' Rouge said. 'We need to talk about Cosmo's new _boyfriend_.' Rouge looked like the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

'I don't like him.' Cream and I said simultaneously. Marine shrugged. 'I didn't really talk to him at the dinner so I don't really know what he's like, but ... he looks kinda _mean_.'

'Tails doesn't like him either.' I added.

'Did you two discuss Stephen?' Maria asked, sounding mildly surprised.

'The day we took Mai to the park.' I explained. 'And Sonic told me that - '

The girls all exchanged knowing looks. I should have felt angry at them for suggesting that anything was going on between me and Sonic (I was engaged after all) but I didn't. I just felt embarrassed. My face was bright red and I felt a little uncomfortable.

'Anyway ... Tails doesn't trust Stephen.' I finished, suddenly feeling shy.

'Well, if Tails doesn't like him it's good enough for me.' Blaze said. She sounded very sure of herself.

'What do the other guys think?' Maria asked. Her blue eyes were full of worry. 'I don't like him and Shadow doesn't either, but we haven't really been able to talk about it in front of Mai.'

'I don't think they do either.' Tikal told her. 'I know Knuckles doesn't anyway.'

'Charmy and I can't stand him.'

'Silver says that he doesn't look like someone you should mess with ... which is Silver's way of saying that he's terrified of him.'

The girls looked at me. 'Oh, well, Elias didn't really talk about him but ...' I trailed off when I saw their expressions. 'Amy, we mean what does _Sonic_ think?' Tikal rolled her eyes.

'Why are you asking me?' I cried, my face flushing.

'Because you saw him after the dinner.' Maria explained. 'None of us have seen him since. And anyway, you know Sonic better than the rest of us - '

'You mean I **knew** Sonic better than the rest of you.' I corrected.

'Amy - ' Blaze began, but I cut her off.

'Look, you guys keep bringing this up and you know how much I hate talking about it.' I cried, eyes flashing with hurt. Maria and Cream looked a little ashamed but the others – Marine, Rouge, Tikal and Blaze – met my gaze and didn't falter. I stood up, 'If this is the only reason you brought me here, then I'll go because I _really _don't want to talk about Sonic.'

'No, Amy - '

'We're sorry - '

'We didn't mean - '

'Don't be so - '

I ran out of the room, trying not to listen to their protests; there were tears threatening to fall from my eyes at any moment. I made it to the front door and set my hand on the handle when it was pushed open from the outside. I jumped backwards: an ebony hedgehog with red stripes was standing on the doorstep, two large bags of groceries in his hands. He didn't look surprised to see me.

I quickly dragged a hang across my eyes and glared at him.

'Don't bother saying anything Shadow. I'm leaving.' I said coldly. He stood to the side to let me leave the house. I unlocked my car and got into it. I started the car and drove away.

'Why do they keep bringing it up?' I wailed. My eyes felt heavy and damp; tears began to slide down my face. 'No wonder I feel so confused around him. No wonder I felt that spark when I shook his hand ... I've never had a chance to get over Sonic because all they ever do is bring him up!'

I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Sonic; the way his eyes would shine when he laughed, the way his smile could make me melt, the way he used to hold me and kiss me and make me feel loved.

The tears continued to fall; this just wasn't _fair_.

**(x x x)**

I was surprised when Blaze came running to my classroom during lunch the following Monday.

'Blaze,' I began when I saw her. 'I'm sorry about - '

'Yes, yes, I know you're sorry Amy. I'm sorry too.' she interrupted. 'But I need you to do me a favor - '

'What kind of favor?' I asked suspiciously.

'I have a really important appointment in a few minutes. I'll miss the next period and I have a class on. I know that you have a free after lunch so could you please please please watch my students? I've left work for them, just make sure they do it.'

She said this all very quickly and she sounded pretty desperate. I sighed; I had been meaning to use the free period to call Maria and apologise for my outburst at her house. But I could do that when I got home.

'Yeah, I'll do that.' I said. Blaze's eyes glowed and she wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug. 'Thank you Amy!' she paused and continued in a more solemn voice, 'I am sorry for - '

'Blaze. Appointment.' I reminded her. I really didn't want to hear about it anymore; everytime I thought about what happened at Maria's it just made me think of Sonic ... which was something I was trying to stop doing.

Blaze smiled again and quickly left the room. I gathered up a few of the papers I had left to grade and made my way to Blaze's classroom.

I sat down at her desk and moved some of her papers and books out of the way; the table was a mess. She must have been in a hurry.

I sorted through the essays, feeling bored when I saw something that took my notice. It was a sheet of paper near the very bottom of the pile, but I could tell that it wasn't an essay on war poems. I recognised Blaze's handwriting.

Without thinking I began to read it; it was covered with scribbles and crossed out words but I could make out some of it.

_I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to tell Silver ... I'm not sure how he'll react. If I do nothing ... it's not like he's going to do this himself, is it? _

_Silver, I _(the rest of this was scribbled out so I couldn't read it, but it looked like it had been pretty long)

_A dinner? A party? Somewhere romantic when we're alone together or somewhere with all of our friends? Over-the-top romantic or something more casual but still meaningful?_

_Ask Cosmo about flower meanings. _

_A silver band of course. What jewels? Ask Rouge for advice – but don't give anything away!_

I suddenly realised that I was reading something very personal and private to Blaze. I quickly set it aside, under some books. I left the end of the page poke out though, so she'd be able to find it.

Around twenty different questions were buzzing around inside my head; what was that sheet for? Was Blaze planning something? What was she planning? Why was she keeping it a secret? I froze. Could she - ?

'Uh, Miss Rose?'

I looked up from the desk and instantly straightened myself. Taylor was standing there in a football jersey and jeans. His mane looked damp and I could smell the Lynx from where I was sitting. He must play football; the team were at a match today.

'Taylor, what can I do for you?' I asked him. I tried to sound friendly but I held his gaze, my eyes narrowed slightly as though daring him to make a move on my little sister. 'You're not in any of my classes.'

'Yeah, but I have English here ... I guess Miss Sol isn't in.'

'She had to leave for an appointment.'

'Ah. Okay. I was just wondering ... I'll just ... sit at my desk.'

He sat down on a seat near the back of the classroom and took out his books. I watched him like a hawk, my eyes narrowed. Ever since Daisy-May invited him over to our house I was trying to find out more about him. He was one of those boys who had everyone eating out of their hands; he was funny, athletic, popular and had an accent. He had most of the girls in his year, and some of the girls who were younger and older than him, chasing after him. From what other teachers said, he was a smart, well-behaved student who was always up for a discussion in class.

But I didn't like him. I didn't want him anywhere _near_ my baby sister.

The bell to signal the end of lunch went off and students began to walk into the classroom; the room filled up pretty quickly. The last person to arrive was Daisy-May, who was being pushed in by her helper. She looked very surprised to see me and quickly went to her place ... beside Taylor. He flashed a film-star smile at her and she grinned back. I suddenly felt very protective.

I clapped my hands together to get the students' attention. 'Okay, so Miss Sol isn't in today - ' I was cut off by excited whispers and exclamations of ''yes!''

'_But,' _I cried over the noise, 'She has left work for you all. It's on the board. If you're quiet and work hard I'll let you chat for the last few minutes of class, okay?'

The class grumbled and complained but took out their books and copies and began working. Daisy-May whispered something in Taylor's ear. His smile grew even brighter.

I wanted to do something. I wanted to give Taylor a new seat so he couldn't flirt with my sister. She was too young to date anyone ... especially someone like Taylor. Popular, athletic with twenty girls chasing after him already. I didn't want to see her get hurt but I couldn't do anything because I knew how angry it would make her.

I shook my head and pretended to do some work, keeping an eye on the two of them. It was going to be a long class.

**(x x x)**

**It's time for me to get back to watching _The Young Victoria _(Victoria and Albert are only the greatest ship ever.)**

**Then I'm going to get _The Perks of Being a Wallflower _on DVD tomorrow. And then I have an elaborate scheme planned out for Tuesday, so I can speak to ... somebody ... ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) **

**And have a happy Valentine's Day!**

**Scarstar xxx**


	8. All I Can Do Is Cry

**SUPER SUPER SORRY THIS IS LATE. School is torture and I'm also really lazy ... **

**I know I said that Sonic would be in this chapter but I think it would work better in the next chapter. This chapter is important for Sonic's next apperance and Amy's feelings when they interact.**

**The next chapter will involve progressions in the Cosmo storyline and the Blaze storyline. And in the chapter following it, I might get some of the Maria storyline started! (Hint: it involves her mother and jealousy directed towards Blaze.)**

**I'm still trying to figure out how to introduce the Tikal storyline (which isn't majorly important to the plot, but I neglected her before and I think she deserves some time in the spotlight ;D)**

**You're really going to hate Amy in this chapter. But try to have a little bit of sympathy for her guys ... this is all very confusing and complicated for her. Her friends weren't much help in the previous chapter (though they will start giving her better advice) and Elias and Daisy-May don't try to make things any easier ...**

**Enjoy.**

**(x x x)**

'You have to cancel any plans you have for Friday night.' Elias said grimly. I looked up from the cornflakes I was trying to force down; I never had much of an appetite in the mornings. '

'Why?' I yawned. I had been up all night, kept awake by thoughts of Daisy May and Alex, curiosity over what Blaze was planning and dreams of warm, green eyes that stayed burned into my mind hours after waking up.

'Mother and father are throwing a dinner part to celebrate Sally's return.' he sighed.

'Ugh.' Without thinking I let out a loud groan. I blushed, realising that I must have sounded really rude. 'Sorry.' I said sheepishly.

'It's okay.' Elias replied. 'I don't like them either.'

Friday night ... what did I have to do on Friday night?

I let out another groan. 'I was supposed to help Tikal babysit Mai and Emily. Maria and Shadow have to go to someone's birthday party and Rouge was going out for drinks with Blaze.'

Elias opened his mouth to speak but I waved it off. 'No, no, I'll go. I'll have to tell Tikal though.' I took out my phone and sent Tikal a text message, explaining my situation. While I did that, Elias went around the kitchen, stacking the plates on the shelves and putting everything in a specific order. I felt strange watching him do this, trying to make the place look perfect. He was always like this; sorting things and putting things in order when I didn't ask him too.

I shook my head; I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Daisy-May rolled into the room, looking like she was dressed for a day at the skate-park and not a boring Monday at school. 'Good morning.' she said to Elias and I, smiling as she slid some bread into the toaster. I narrowed my eyes, observing her calmly over my cup of coffee. She looked unusually chirpy for a Monday morning.

'You're in a good mood.' I noted. I tried to make it sound like a casual, chatty remark and not an accusation.

Sadly, I'm not a very good actress. Daisy-May's happy expression evaporated. She looked a little anxious. 'No reason! It's just a nice day!' she replied. Her voice was unusually high pitched, which I knew meant she was trying to hide something.

'Hm.' I continued to eat my mushy cornflakes. Daisy-May buttered her toast and scoffed it down quickly. She started wheeling around in circles, checking her watch every couple of seconds.

'It's not even eight yet.' Elias told her. 'You have plenty of time to get to school.'

Daisy-May ignored him and continued to wheel around the kitchen, throwing me agitated looks every so often. 'C'mon Ames! Hurry up – I need to get to school really early today! And you work there! Don't you have classes - ?'

'My fourth years are away on a trip today.' I grinned. 'I have the day off. Elias was going to drop you off on his way too work.'

Daisy-May pouted. 'But I wanna go to school.'

'You weren't this enthusiastic for school last Monday.' I noted drily. 'I ended up having to bribe you with Nutella just to get you out of bed.'

'Yeah, well, that was last week, okay?' Daisy-May huffed. 'Paul and Jade want us to meet up early to discuss plans for Friday.'

'What are you doing on Friday?' I asked, my overprotective side coming centre stage for a minute.

Daisy-May looked like she wanted to bang her head across the table for letting something slip. 'Uh ... we're just going to see a movie. Get some pizza. Ya know, teenager stuff.' Daisy-May explained.

I smiled. 'That sounds like fun. What are you guys going to see?'

'I guess that's okay ...' I replied. Daisy-May beamed. Elias looked up from his newspaper, frowning slightly.

'Sally especially requested that Daisy-May came.' Elias said apologetically. 'Came where?' Daisy-May asked suspiciously.

'Oh yeah.' I said sadly. 'Elias' parents are having a dinner - '

I was cut off by a very loud groan from Daisy-May. Unlike me she didn't try to hide her annoyance and didn't apologize to Elias for her rude behavior; I felt a twinge of annoyance. Did she have to behave like this in front of my fiance? I already felt like his family judged me and the way she was acting wasn't going to make things any better.

I glared at my little sister. She saw my expression and stuck her tongue out in reply. Then she turned to Elias. 'Do I have to go? I don't even know Sally that well, what does she want to see me for?'

That was a good question; I looked over at Elias, hoping that he would give an answer but he looked just as bemused as the two of us. 'Sorry. No idea.'

'Well, if she didn't tell you then it can't be that important.' Daisy-May said. 'So therefore, I don't have to go.' Before I could say anything she began to babble. 'It isn't fair – I just wanna hang out with my friends. Please.' Her tone was no longer annoyed or huffy, she actually sounded slightly desperate.

'Maybe you could miss it ...' I began awkwardly. 'Just this once. If it's okay with Elias.'

Elias shrugged. 'I guess it's okay.' he said to us. Then, under his breath he muttered, 'As long as I'm not the one who has to explain to Sally why she's not getting her way.'

Daisy-May's happy expression from a few minutes ago reappeared; her eyes were shining and she was smiling like the people on toothpaste advertisements.

'Thank you Amy!' she beamed. 'I promise I'll behave and I'll be back by curfew and I won't go off with any strange people or get pressured into anything or - '

'Hey, I need to know who's going.' I said over her. Daisy-May's smile vanished. 'Oh.'

I was getting worried now; why wouldn't she tell me who she was going with? Did she think I wasn't going to approve? ... oh God, she was going to meet up with someone she met on the internet or something wasn't she?!

I looked over at Elias, trying to see how he felt about this. He was watching Daisy-May like she was a brainteaser he was trying to solve. He looked more curious than worried which, I can't lie, annoyed me. We never seemed to be on the same page.

'Who's going?' I repeated sharply.

'Jade, Paul, Judy, Alex and warplewarplemumble.'

'I didn't quite catch that last name.'

Daisy-May let out a sigh. 'Jade, Paul, Alex, Judy ...'

'And?' I asked, my eyes narrowed with suspicion. Daisy-May threw an agitated glance at Elias but he shook his head; he wasn't going to help her get out of this.

'... Taylor ...' she finished, her expression defeated.

Elias' expression didn't change but I can only imagine what I looked like. Taylor was going to the cinema with my baby sister? My blood began to boil and I clenched my fists out of anger. No. No way. She might get to see him during school - there was nothing to be done about that - but if she thought that I was just going to let her go out with some guy she's only known for five minutes she can think again!

'Oh.' I said simply. Daisy-May was watching me warily. I cleared my throat and continued speaking, 'Well ... I actually think that it would be best if you came to the dinner party with us.'

I could almost see Daisy-May's blood boiling with anger. I suddenly felt very scared; even Elias looked a little uneasy.

'I think it's time I ...' Elias muttered, darting out of the room.

'Hey!' I cried, 'Aren't you going to help me out here?'

There was no answer. I tried to hide my annoyance - I had other things to worry about. Like the fact that Daisy-May looked furious and I was 110% sure that her fury was directed at me.

'Why can't I go to the cinema?' she asked. Her voive was soft but full of supressed anger. Her eyes were narrowed, her expression dark and she was glaring at me.

How can a fifteen year old girl in a wheelchair scare me so much?

I focused on the toaster on the counter behind Daisy-May and replied sheepishly, 'You heard Elias; Sally really wants you to come - and this is kinda _her_ dinner after all. And you know how bored I get at these things ... I need someone - '

'_Amanda_.' Daisy-May interrupted, glowering at me. I shuddered at the sound of my name; 'You sound like mother.' I told her.

'I'd rather _be_ with her.' Daisy-May retorted. 'She'd want me to have a life, which is something you've been denying me or quite a while!'

I felt a stab of guilt but I pushed it aside for now. 'In case you hadn't noticed, mother isn't **here**. She left me in charge of you and as a matter of fact, I'm giving you way more freedom than she gave me!'

'Oh don't make me laugh!' Daisy-May hissed. 'Mother let you stay at a stranger's house when you hadn't even known them for a _day_.' At my blank expression she rolled her eyes and continued, 'When we first moved here? Cream's house? The details don't matter. But you were always going out and having fun with your friends. And I can't even go to the cinema with Taylor and the others just this _once_.'

My fear and guilt were suddenly pushed aside by a wave of anger directed at Daisy-May. 'I just don't want you going off with strange boys - you're _so_ not ready to date anyone.'

'Oh my God, I feel like a broken record.' Daisy May sighed. 'Taylor and I ... we're just _friends_, okay? I swear ... if were going to date anyone, he'd date Bella or Christina or one of the other popular girls. Not the freaky wheelchair kid who still likes to watch _High School Musical_.'

I gritted my teeth; so Taylor wouldn't date my sister because she had a disability? I felt like punching a wall. There was nothing wrong with Daisy-May ... being in a wheel-chair didn't make her any different than any other girl.

'That's bullshit.' I said angrily. 'That jerk won't date you because you're in a wheelchair?' My eyes were narrowed and I was considering marching straight to school and getting that idiotic American expelled.

'No! I didn't say that!' Daisy-May cried, her eyes wide. 'I just meant ... he grew up in New York City, so he's sophisticated is all. And he plays football and stuff ... he's one of the ''populars''. I'm just not his type.'

'That's stupid.' I argued, 'You're more sophisticated than Christina or - '

'Oh my _God_, Amy, **what's your problem?**' Daisy-May cried. 'One minute you're saying I shouldn't be thinking about dating or boys and now you're trying to tell me why I _should _be dating Taylor. Would you make up your mind?'

I blushed, realising my mistake. But it didn't deter me for long, as my anger was still the strongest emotion inside me; I was finally starting to understand the expression ''seeing red''.

'I don't have a problem with you dating - _**when you're ready.**_' I said, my voice wobbling with the effort it was taking me not to scream or shout.

'But I _am_ ready.' Daisy-May protested. 'No you're not.' I said sharply. 'You're only fifteen.'

'Shadow!' Daisy-May argued. 'Maria!'

'That's - '

'Silver!'

'Stop it.'

'Blaze.'

'_That's enough_!'

'Elias and Megan! _You and Sonic, you and Sonic, you and Sonic - _!'

'Stop it!' I cried. 'Stop it stop it stop it!' I put my hands over my ears, trying to block out my little sisters cries of ''_You and Sonic!_''.

Daisy-May saw that she had gotten to me and stopped her chant. Her expression was dark but her eyes were gleaming; she knew that she was winning this argument.

'I see. That's your problem.' she said simply; I was surprised by her tone - she didn't sound snarky or mean, like she was looking down at me. Her voice was softer than before and even a little sad. I was very confused.

'What do you mean that's my problem?' I whispered.

'_Amy_. Come on.' she replied.

'What do you mean?'

Daisy-May sighed and rolled her eyes. 'If you don't know I can't tell you.'

I didn't think that was fair, but when I said this Daisy-May just shook her head sadly. There was a long period of silence where I tried to calm myself down which was hard because I was still very upset about my argument with Daisy-May. And what did she mean ''that'' was my problem? What was _that_? I didn't **have **a problem ... i just didn't want my little sister to start dating just yet - that wasn't a crime was it?

_What did she mean?_ I asked myself. I shut my eyes tight, as that sometimes helped me focus. But when I closed my eyes my mind was filled with memories of being pressed against a warm body, feeling safe and loved and a pair of bright green eyes staring into my own ...

That stupid hedgehog wouldn't even leave me alone in my thoughts.

The silence was finally broken by Daisy-May. 'I'll go to the dinner party.'she told me. I was about to offer her a small smile when she glared at me, 'Though I'm pretty pissed about missing the film. But I'm interested in hearing what Sally has to say.'

She wheeled towards the door to the hall. 'I'll be in the living room. Tell me when Elias is ready to take me to school.'

And with that she was gone.

I looked at my bowl of soggy cornflakes and pushed them away. I was even less hungry than I was before.

Elias slowly walked into the room. As soon as I saw him I felt a twinge of annoyance. 'Thanks for helping me back there.' I said sarcastically, dropping my spoon into my bowl so it made a loud _clink_ sound.

'I don't like confrontation.' Elias said in an attempt to defend himself. I rolled my eyes, 'God, you're such a wimp.' I muttered. I didn't notice Elias' expression turn dark. 'You could have helped me out there, is all I'm saying.'

'I didn't think it was any of my business.' he explained. He rinsed out some of the coffee mugs stacked on the counter. I stood up from my seat and pushed him aside. 'I can do it myself.' I hissed.

I suddenly felt very emotional; my eyes felt warm and damp and I needed to distract myself from crying. I rubbed them and pretended to yawn, trying to give the impression that I was just rubbing sleep from my eyes but Elias didn't buy it. His expression softened and he patted my shoulder awkardly, unsure of what to do.

'I'm sorry Amy. I just thought that it was better if you and Daisy-May try and solve your problems without me.'

'I still needed someone to help me!' I protested. 'I don't like confrontation much either but you don't see me running away - I'm taking responsibility for my sister. Who, I _might_ add, will become your sister-in-law in a couple of months.'

Elias didn't say anything.

I was starting to get carried away; alot of my anger from my fight with Daisy-May was still inside me and I was just _so confused_ and stressed about my problems. I wasn't thinking straight.

'I think you're being selfish.' I told him nastily.

Elias' eyes were full of hurt, like a chao about to be put down (that's what happened to Cream's pet chao, Cheese. She cried for days afterwards). I felt like kicking myself for calling him selfish and I the horrible feeling of guilt returned.

However, the guilt vanished when I heard what Elias said next. 'That's rich coming from _you_.' he retorted. He put his hand to his forehead, pulled a face and said, in a falsetto voice; 'Oh woe is me! I come from a poor family and I've never had any proper friends and now everyone loves me! Oh my life's so hard and unfair - help me help me help me. The entire world revolves around me and my problems. Me me _me_.' he paused, 'Other people have problems too Amy. So get off your high-horse and stop being such a selfish brat.'

I took a step back from him, flinching like I had just been slapped across the face. I saw a flash of guilt in Elias' eyes but he didn't say anything. I didn't know if this was because he didn't know what to say, or because he was too proud to admit he was wrong ... or was he _right_? Did people really think I was like that? Did I ignore other people's problems? _Was I __**selfish**_?

_No_, a little voice inside my head said to me. _You're not selfish ... the poor little rich boy over there is the selfish one. He doesn't care about anyone but himself - he's just jealous because you have so many friends and people who like you. He treats everyone like crap while you're nice to people ... he's the selfish one._

I didn't want to listen to the cruel little voice ... but I couldn't help thinking it (She? He? It was hard to tell) had a point.

'_I'm _selfish?' I cried, spinning around to face him. I was pretty sure I spat on him but I didn't care at all. He deserved it. 'Me!? I gave up love because of this ridiculous arranged marriage! I worked my ass off at The Sugar Bowl and babysitting to help my mum pay for Daisy-May's hopsital bills! I moved out of my home so I could keep here here with me!' That's when I exploded; 'Tell me, what have _you _done for any of your family or friends lateley? Absolutely _nothing_, that's what! So how **dare** you accuse me of being selfish, you stupid hypocrite with your ''poor little rich boy'' act and all of that shit.'

I was shaking with anger as I stopped yelling. My face was flushed and my eyes were narrowed and I felt like I was going to cry again. My heart was racing and I could almost feel my blood boiling underneath my fur.

Elias was staring at me. He looked furious; his eyebrows knitted together, his lips drawn back and his teeth gritted so he looked like a wild beast, ready to rip me to shreds. His fists were clenched as well. His eyes were different though, his eyes didn't have anger inside them. Only tears.

'You're not the only person who gave things up Amy!' he roared. I jumped at the volume of his voice and also the surprise of how upset he sounded. He took a step towards me while I took one back. 'I gave up my best friend and the only girl I've ever loved and all of my dreams just to please my parents! How do you think I feel about that? My whole life has been putting what other people want for me ahead of what _I _want, so please forgive me for trying to avoid an argument which, really, has nothing to do with me!'

I flattened my ears back and glared at him; at any other time I would've tried to apologise or comfort him but I really didn't feel like my usual self. I felt really angry and bitter and I just didn't care.

'You know, _Megan _never tried to drag me into her problems.'

'_Sonic_ always helped me defend and stand-up for myself.'

'I stood up for Megan!' Elias argued. 'To people at school, to - '

'Too your parents?' I asked, feigning innocence.

Elias turned a very interesting but startling shade of purple. 'Wh - what do you mean?' he asked shakily.

'Sally told me how your parents didn't like her because she was born out of wedlock and because she's an Atheist. And since you're so keen to please your parents, I wondered if you ever had the balls to stand up for Megan.'

'M - my parents never said anything - '

'But surely you could see what their opinion of her was? For someone who's so into theatre and drama you're not a very good liar.' I shrugged my shoulders. 'Maybe that's why she ditched you.'

'Amy - '

'What happened again?'

'Amy, _please_ - '

'It was the night we graduated, the two of you went to a hotel and _finally _slept together. You promised to always love each other and that nothing would ever keep you apart ... and when you woke up again in the morning she had left - '

Elias picked up a dirty plate and flung it to the ground where it smashed into tiny pieces. The noise seemed to bring the two of us out of a trance; I looked at Elias and my anger ebbed away, like the water returning to the sea after a tidal wave. He was staring at the broken plate, blinking back tears. I felt sick with guilt; why was I doing this to him?

'Elias, I'm really -' I began, but Elias shook his head and left the room. A few seconds later I head Daisy-May's wheelchair roll down the hall and the front door open and close. I was all by my self.

My knees began to shake and I slowly crumpled to the floor. I placed my head on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. Then I cried and cried and cried, not even caring about the sharp pieces of plate all around the floor.

Why was I getting so angry at everyone and everything? I felt awful; I had treated Elias like shit today and hadn't even apologised ... _was I selfish?_ I was a bitch anyway.

And what did Daisy-May mean earlier? What's my problem?

I didn't have answers to any of these questions. I didn't have anyone to talk too. All I could do was cry.

**(x x x)**

**Aww, poor Amy ... though she was pretty mean.**

**Anyway, it's 11:00 PM over here in Ireland and I am exhausted. **

**Goonight :)**

**Scarstar xxx**


	9. Dinner Party

**I am really sorry about how long it's taking for me to write this. I really am. I'm just really busy. **

**But it gets a little more interesting from now on which might make me a little more eager ... enjoy :)**

**This is probably the least angsty chapter so far btw. I was trying to get the same ''feel'' that ISITC had ... so yeah ^_^**

**Enjoy :)**

**(x x x)**

I was sitting on a red plush sofa, trying to avoid dying of boredom.

Dinner parties _r_ea_lly _weren't my thing.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed dressing up and socalising with my friends ... but with a bunch of really posh strangers and future in-laws?

Forget it.

I was totally surrounded by packs of men in fancy suits and women adorned with diamond jewellery. They were all drinking red-wine and eating caviar and escargots and other gross things (who in their right mind would want to eat fish eggs and snails? I felt sick just **looking** at the stuff).

All of the women looked like they had stepped out of Vogue; I was wearing a simple dark grey dress and the only jewellery I had on was my engagement ring and a plain silver necklace. I felt very out of place and uncomfortable.

Not Daisy-May though: even though it was only her second dinner-party she was totally confident. She had refused to wear anything which I deemed ''suitable'' - she said that because she didn't want to come she should get to chose what she wore - and had shown up in a black blazer covered with badges advertising bands I had never heard of, a white blouse and black skirt. She wore black and white stripy socks and her favourite pair of worn out DMs. Her hair was held in place with what looked suspiciously like chopsticks and black ribbon.

She looked like a schoolgirl rebel and instantly got the attention of everyone in the room. Sadly, these open stares and raised-eyebrows didn't make her behave. She was happy to wheel around the house, attempting to knock over everyone in sight. Whenever she caught someone staring at her with disdain or scorn she didn't shy away like I did, she confronted them.

I was mortified by her behaviour; why couldn't she act _normal_ for just one night? I can deal with the clothes and the attitude ... just not here. Around the people I have to impress.

A part of me envied Daisy-May and her confidence. She didn't let anyone push her around and didn't take shit from anyone. She wasn't afraid to voice her opinion or seek confrontation. I wished that I was more like that when I was fifteen. Heck, I wished that I was more like that _now_.

The only person who hadn't given Daisy-May any funny looks tonight was Sally. When we had arrived at the mansion (because I simply cannot call it a house) she had greeted us warmly. Sally had looked very pretty in a bright blue dress and a pearl necklace and pearl earrings. She had hugged us all (I only returned the hug half-heartedly while Elias stood perfectly still, as though he was pretending that she wasn't there.)

Daisy-May had instantly fallen for Sally's bright smile, soft voice and kind eyes. And the fact that Sally only laughed when Daisy-May almost ran her over had impressed my little sister as well. Sally, who could remember Daisy-May better than Daisy-May could remember her was very happy to see her. The two of them had went of together and I hadn't seen them for a while.

I felt a tiny prickle of jealousy. Daisy-May seemed to be enjoying Sally's company more than my own ... I missed the days when she thought that I was the greatest and always wanted to hang out with me. Nowadays she just wanted to stay out with her friends or lock herself in her room with her music.

She hadn't spoken to me properly since our fight.

I felt like she was doing this to punish me.

Elias hadn't spoken to me either. The drive to his parent's house had been completely silent except for the radio, much like the last few days at our house. Right now he was talking to a few of his rich old uncles. If I hadn't known him I would have thought he was just like all of the other posh pompous men there. He seemed very suave and sophisticated. I admired and envied his acting skills ... I didn't know how to act like that.

All of a sudden everyone stopped talking: Max, Alicia, Elias and Sally were standing in the middle of the room. Sally was standing next to Elias, though he was making sure to keep a small amount of distance between them.

Max cleared his throat and began to speak. 'Words cannot describe,' he began in a somber tone, 'How happy my wife and I are to have our darling daughter back. It is such a comfort to know that she is safe. Our family is finally complete.'

There was a quick round of applause. Alicia was beginning to cry. Elias looked fed-up. Sally looked slightly uncomfortable but had a smile on her face. She hugged her father and brother and kissed her mother on the cheek. Then she turned to face everyone else.

'I would like to apologise to everyone. I'm truly sorry for leaving without telling you where I was going. I know that I caused a lot of hassle but I just thought that it was something I had to do - and please don't ask me what I was doing. That is my own business.' she warned.

'There are many other people who couldn't be here tonight and I must find a way to apologise to them soon.' she continued. 'But I have the chance to apologise to all of you right now. And believe me, I am sorry for what I did. And I'm glad to be home. It's been really hard.'

Sally sounded so sincere: I could tell that she was holding back tears and I could hear the relief and happiness in her tone. I felt some of my annoyance towards the pretty squirrel fade away. Nobody was that good of an actress.

Sally smiled warmly at us and everyone clapped for her. Ken and Daisy-May clapped the hardest. Sally raised her hand and stopped our applause. 'I wasn't finished yet. We have someone to thank for this ...'

Sally's eyes were shining and she had a sly smile on her face. I wasn't the only person who noticed: Elias was looking over at his sister, his brow creased with worry.

'I invited him here tonight,' Sally continued, 'so we could thank him personally. He was a friend of mine from school and he managed to find me and convince me to come back. So, ladies and gentlemen I give you the one and only _Sonic the hedgehog!_'

Sonic was pushed up beside Sally. Everyone began to clap and cheer for him, forgetting that they were supposed to be sensible and snooty for a few minutes. Daisy-May rolled over and high-fived him. Max shook his hand and Alicia hugged him, saying ''thank you thank you thank you'' over and over again. Even Elias tried to smile.

Me?

I didn't clap or cheer - it wasn't out of disrespect or anything, I was just taken by surprise. I hadn't seen Sonic since the day Sally came back. If I was being honest, I had been avoiding him - he had sent me a few text messages (I suspected that Tails or one of the girls gave him my number) but I hadn't answered. Honestly, the thought of speaking to him (even via text) was too much for me to handle.

And I don't know why.

I watched Sonic smile sheepishly: he didn't like being the centre of attention and having everybody fawn over him. It made him feel self-concious and awkward. He looked at Sally who smiled and turned to look at me. Sonic followed her gaze and our eyes locked across the room.

I couldn't breathe properly: my heart fluttered and my head was buzzing like there was a swarm of bees inside it. I ducked my head away and stared at the floor.

_Please don't come over here. _

Everybody was back to mingling. I looked up and looked away quickly: Sonic was making his way towards me.

I turned around and walked out of the room, hoping that Sonic wouldn't follow me out. I didn't look back to see where he was in case he noticed it and thought that I had seen him and was trying to ignore him (and yeah, that is what I was doing, but I didn't want him to know that!).

I quickly walked out of the hall and opened the glass doors. I stepped out onto the porch and shivered. The night-air was bitterly cold compared to the warmth I had felt inside. I got used to the temperature after a few seconds and turned my attention towards the night-sky. The stars twinkled merrily in the darkness and the moon was full and looked as though she were smiling down on the earth ...

I just realised how ridiculously stupid and soppy that sounded, but when you live in a town full of ugly streetlamps you begin to appreciate little things like the night-sky and the stars a lot more. Oh, and Daisy-May never stops trying to sing ''Memory'' (note the use of the word _trying_) so I can't look at the moon without thinking of every reference to it in the song (_thanks_ Daisy-May).

_The moon does look really nice though ... _I admitted to myself, _It reminds me of something ..._

_I rolled around on my side and saw the moon from the window. It was beautiful and round and full. I shivered slightly, not from the cold but from the bliss I was experiencing. I hadn't ever felt like this ... so happy ... so complete. I turned around again to meet a pair of big green eyes. My breath caught in my throat and I wrapped my arms around Sonic's neck. I buried my face in his bare chest, nuzzling him. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and pull me closer. I let my hands run down his back, stroking his soft blue fur. Sonic pulled me even closer and began kissing and rubbing my hair. I could feel his heartbeat: it was quick and fluttery, rather like mine. I smiled: this was perfect._

'Amy?'

I let out a litte gasp and spun around. Sonic was standing at the door, watching me with a curious expression. 'Are you okay?'

'Oh, y - yes. Yes, I'm fine ... it's just ... well ... f - fine.' I stammered. I was blushing furiously - why did he have to turn up now? After that intimate memory ... If Sonic knew what I was thinking about just a few seconds ago I would die from the shame. I was getting married for God's sake! When you're engaged to someone you do not stand around fantasizing about your ex ...

The word ''fantasizing'' caused another image to flash in my mind. I felt very warm all over.

I was _mortified_.

My discomfort must have been obvious because Sonic was beginning to look a little concerned. He cautiously took a few steps towards me, eyes narrowed. 'Are you okay Ames?' he asked. He sounded genuinely concerned. I felt myself soften slightly ... oh why did he have to be so damn _nice_?

'I'm okay ...' I said, hoping that a proper conversation couldn't start from such a short answer. I just wanted Sonic to go ... I had been doing so well when it came to ignoring him and now all of this confusion was back.

'Elias was wondering how you were ...' Sonic told me. His expression didn't give away any of his emotions but I could tell that he was having a hard time keeping his tone polite when he mentioned my fiance. I wasn't sure how this made me feel.

'Tell him I'm fine.' I replied. I then looked back at the moon, hoping that Sonic would get the message and leave because my heart was jumping so much I could have sworn it had hiccups. Unfortunatly Sonic just joined me at the fence. Our arms brushed slightly as he moved to stand beside me and I couldn't help myself from shivering.

Oh _hello_ hormones. Long time no see.

'You've been ignoring me.' Sonic said suddenly.

I was slightly taken aback - that was pretty random of him to say.

Even though it was a _little_ true ...

No. No, I was not ignoring Sonic ... I just hadn't had the chance to speak to him is all! That was it.

But when I told him this, I felt a twinge of guilt. I tried to force it down and I told myself I was being silly - I had nothing to feel guilty about!

Nothing at all.

If that were true though, why was it so hard to convince myself that's how it was?

Sonic interrupted my thoughts. 'No, you've been ignoring me Amy. Don't deny it.'

I was about to snap at him when I noticed that his tone wasn't angry; it was just ... sad.

I know that's a bad word to use. It's such a loose term and makes it seem like the things that upset you aren't a big deal. But that is the only way I can describe it ... he didn't sound heartbroken, or full of sorrow, or bitter or anything. Just sad.

If I was being honest, I felt a little dissapointed by his reaction ... I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted from him ... just something more than **sad**.

I didn't know why his reaction mattered so much. I wasn't sure I _wanted _to know, because if it was for the reasons I thought it might be then that really wasn't a good thing.

'Well ... maybe you have a point.' I admitted. 'It's just a little weird I guess ... being around you.'

'Why?'

Again, he had taken me by surprise. I looked up at him, eyes wide - was he being like this on _purpose_? Was he just trying to annoy me?

No, he looked completely sincere.

This just made me more irritated: wasn't the answer to this question obvious? We were exes and we had gotten very little closure ... were all guys this dense and oblvious?

'Because - because we used to date.' I told him, my eyes moving to the ground as I was finding it hard to make eye-contact with him. 'It's just ... weird.'

'I think it's a little more than that Amy.'

I started blushing when I realised what he was implying. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, trying to pull off a surprised, almost amused expression. I don't think it worked though ... my face felt very warm so I can only imagine how red it must have been. 'Are you implying that I ... ?'

I didn't want to finish: saying the words out loud ... it would make it harder to deny that I had feelings for Sonic.

Which I **didn't**. I was just ... confused. Our break-up hadn't ended well and we hadn't spoken in years ... it was all very complex and of course I was going to feel all mixed up inside.

Sonic turned his head so he was facing me. He moved a little closer to me. I felt a strange sensation all around my body, like pins-and-needles only less uncomfortable.

'Do you?' Sonic asked softly. I shivered ... I don't think it was from the cold.

I felt ill: my heart was racing, my legs felt like jelly and my mind had been reduced to mush. I hadn't felt like this in years ... I was surprised by how strong the feeling still was.

Sonic's face was coming closer and closer and - oh my gosh, was he going to ...?

I couldn't help it ... I began to lean in two.

(But it was only out of instinct! I swear to God!)

Closer and closer and ...

I don't know what happened. Maybe the reality of what was happening finally sunk in. Maybe I was just scared of what would happen if this went any further. I don't think I really knew what was going on inside me ... I just new that I had to stop this or I wouldn't be able to handle it.

I took a step back and looked away. Sonic blinked, looking like he had just come out of a trance. He was blushing and looked very sheepish.

'I ... uh ... I'm sorry Ames - '

'I know Sonic.' I said, careful not to look at him: my head was buzzing enough as it was. 'But you need to mean it.'

'I do - '

'You said that you wanted us to be _friends_ Sonic.' I said softly, but with an edge. 'I can't be friends with you if you insist on dragging up our old relationship everytime we're together. Maybe we shouldn't speak at all.'

'No way. That's not happening.' Sonic protested.

I was surprised by how readily he had protested to my suggestion of us parting for good ... it sent a strange rush through my body. I couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad feeling. I tried to ignore it and went on.

'Then you need to listen to me Sonic.' I told him. 'I am getting married soon and I no longer have any romantic feelings for you.'

**You're lying Amanda** a little voice inside my head whispered. I tried to ignore that too. The voices in my head only got me into trouble ... I wasn't going to listen to them anymore.

But still ... I couldn't help but think they had a point.

Even though** I don't have feelings for Sonic**.

'This is really confusing for me ... ' I continued. 'This whole thing is hard enough without you ... '

I stuggled to find the correct term to describe what Sonic was doing.

'It's okay Amy,' Sonic said, 'I know what you mean.'

I offered him a nervous smile. The two of us stood there without speaking: it was a rather awkward silence. I wasn't sure what I should say to him, how I should speak to him after this conversation. But I knew that I wanted to keep talking to him ... I missed him.

'So, it's Mai's birthday in a few days.' I told him. 'Shadow and Maria were going to host another thing for Sally because she's back and all ... are you planning on going?'

Sonic frowned. 'Are you asking so you will know if you have to avoid me on the day?' he asked.

I winced inwardly. I felt really bad. I could tell that I had hurt him - and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

'No, I was just ... I just wanted to know if you'd be there ...?'

Sonic nodded. 'Yes, I'm going.'

'Oh,' I said happily, smiling at him (why was I so happy?) 'Cool! I'll see you there then ...'

Sonic was smiling too. 'I'll see ya.'

The two of just stood there for a few seconds, smiling at each other. I felt warm and fuzzy inside ... the feeling was replaced with a wave of guilt. I was engaged ... I shouldn't be feeling like this around other guys. Especially not this guy ...

'I'd better round up Daisy-May and Elias ...' I told him, backing away slightly. Sonic looked away from me and nodded. 'Yeah, I guess you should do that.' he said sadly.

'Well ... goodbye.'

'See ya Ames.'

I made my way back inside, leaving Sonic at the gate, staring at the moon. I wondered what he was thinking of ... what he was feeling ...

I shook my head: none of these feelings made any sense.

**(x x x)**

**That wasnt supposed to be the end of the chapter. I had another scene with some brief Megan/Elias stuff but it didn't feel right here. It will be in the next chapter.**

**Sally/Daisy-May friendship is my new favourite thing.**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL ACTUALLY HAVE PROGRESSION IN THE SUBPLOTS. It was going to be something else but I had an even better idea. IT WILL BE MUCH EASIER AND MAKE MORE SENSE. AND BE HAPPIER.**

**Scarstar xxx**


	10. Discontinued

Hey guys,

I'm sorry I've been slow with updates. I had exams and such ... also, I'm finding this story really hard to write. Not plot-wise or anything. It's not just writer's block. It's just a few, personal issues.

I find it hard to write about Amy and her friends when I have so few. It just makes me feel miserable because I won't ever have that. Also, it's hard for me to write the characters now that they've changed so much and have adult lives now. I don't know the first thing about being an adult. Or even a teenager. While everyone else I know is out partying and dancing and shifting (Irish for make-out), I stay at home reading fanfiction and watching Disney movies. And don't get me wrong, I like doing that ... but I'd love to go to a proper party or dance, just once. But I can't.

I don't know how I feel anymore. I've been feeling this way since I was nine years old ... I've gotten used to it, but it still hurts. Do you know, how many times in the last two years I have considered self-harm or suicide? I have suicide notes written in my diary. I have razors and painkillers hidden under my bed, in case it ever reaches that stage.

I don't think I can keep writing this story. It's too difficult right now.

I am so sorry but this story is officially discontinued. I may continue to update ''Memories and Missing Moments'' but probably not regulary. It's mostly just for practice and plot-bunnies. I'm going to take a break from writing fanfiction for a while. I'm really really sorry but I just don't have the strength (or time) to finish this story.

I will now tell you what happens during the rest of the story. If you want, I can write a few of these scenes and post them.

Blaze found out that Silver was planning on proposing to her but was too scared to go through with it so she decides to propose to him instead. Afterwards, she says that he can propose to her so he won't feel bad. Blaze finishes her book and quits her job at the school.

While Maria is happy for her friends she feels bad because Shadow has often mentioned wanting to take their relationship further but she says that it would be too selfish because her mother needs her right now (remember, her mother has Alzheimer's disease). Her mother suddenly dies one day and later on, Maria realises that she was using her mother's illness as an excuse for not wanting to get married and that she's scared that she isn't good enough for Shadow. Shadow doesn't understand this, because he doesn't think he's good enough for Maria. The two of them decide that they have to work on their relationship and that they have to learn to stop putting each other on a pedastal.

Tails continues to worry about Cosmo but she insists that she's fine. The girls don't believe her as she has become very skittish and emotional. One day, the gang notice a bruise on her cheek which she was trying to hide with her hair and it doesn't take them too long to figure out who inflicted them on her. Cosmo tries to make excuses for Stephen but the gang hardly notices, except for Tails, who tries to comfort her and promises that she'll be safe now and that he won't let Stephen continue to do this to her. He is extremely angry with Stephen but it's nothing compared to Cream and Charmy's reactions, as Vanilla was abused by Cream's father. The two of them track down Stephen and attack him. Cream threatens Stephen and says that if she finds out that he does this to Cosmo, or anyone else, she will make sure that he pays the price. They later hear that Stephen has moved. Cosmo lives with Vanilla and Vector for a few months, getting advice from Vanilla and she later moves in with Tails. It isn't clear if they are dating or not, though Amy notices them sneaking off and holding hands one night.

Charmy continues to spend more time with his new girlfriend which makes Cream very jealous because she feels like she is being replaced. Charmy realises how upset Cream is and decides to break up with his girlfriend, as Cream is much more important to him. Cream worries that she'll never be able to experience a proper relationship because none of the guys she date understand her relationship with Charmy and she doesn't think she'll ever care about anyone as much as she cares about Charmy. Charmy asks why she cares so much about being in a relationship and Cream decides that she's better off without a boyfriend (for now).

Aishling announces that she is planning on moving back to Ireland. Everyone is sad to see her go, especially Marine who begins to wonder if she still has feelings for her after finding out that Nicole was cheating on her for most of their relationship. Marine decides to tell Aishling how she feels, but sees how happy Aishling is about going back home and that she's already falling in love with her new boyfriend and backs down.

Rouge starts to notice that Emily is unhappy about something. When she asks her what's wrong, she discovers that Emily hates that her parents never spend time together. This worries Rouge and she wonders if she should patch things up with Knuckles, but thinks that he is now in love with Julie Su and doesn't bother (in truth, he was telling Julie Su about how he still loved Rouge).

Tikal auditions for the musical and to her surprise she is offered the role of Sophie. All of her friends are exteremely happy for her, especially Aaron. He tries to kiss her but she runs away from him and is followed by the girls who ask her why she constantly denies her feelings for Aaron. Tikal explains that while she loves Aaron, she is waiting for the sort of love the the rest of them have (or had) with their boyfriends (or girlfriends). The girls then ask if she remembers what they told Amy when she was questioning her feelings for Sonic: that love feels different for everyone. It's hardly ever a big ''fairy-tale'' romance. It can feel pretty simple. Tikal decides to think over her relationship with Aaron and see if there is a way for them to be together.

Daisy-May begins seeing Taylor, much to Amy's distress. Amy does her best to stop the relationship and becomes the cause of an argument between the two teenagers. Amy wonders why she is acting like this and realises that she is jealous because her sister doesn't have to marry someone she doesn't love. Amy apologises to Daisy-May and convinces Taylor to ''get her back''.

Megan and Elias get over the awkwardness and Amy finds out that they have been seeing each other. Amy can't feel angry though because she doesn't have feelings for Elias and she feels too guilty because she feels herself falling for Sonic all over again. Amy and Sonic share a kiss and have sex the day before Amy's wedding and she wakes up before him and runs away because she doesn't want to go through more heartbreak (which is why Megan left Elias the morning after they spent a night together). Elias and Amy are about to go through with their wedding when surprisingly, Sally objects quickly followed by the says that neither the bride or groom love each other. Amy, in a moment of daring, tosses her boquet into Megan's arms and hauls her up onto the alter. She and Elias get married instead. At the reception, Maria gaves Sonic a note he left for her telling her that he will be at the garden where they first kissed all night. Amy finds him and apologises: they then kiss and the story ends.

Again, I am sorry that I am not finishing this story but I just can't do it anymore. If there was any way to make it up to you all, I would do whatever it was - if it was in my power.

I am not leaving this site: I will return. But with everything going on ... it might be a while before you get a new story (that's actually alie because I have a ton of half-finished things I might post if I manage to finish them).

Thank you all for everything

Scarstar xxx


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